January 30, 2022
“If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7. (NLT)
Have you ever been disappointed and hurt to your core by people and situations that you could never imagine in a lifetime? Have you ever been lied to and betrayed by someone very close to you and your heart ached to the point that you felt it would break? Have you ever received news that stopped you in your tracks and no amount of money, things, power, or change of location could begin to bring you any measure of comfort and you yearned for the peace that only comes from the Heartbeat of God!
What Takes Away Our Peace? Betrayal destroys trust! Holding grudges and misguided anger takes away our peace. Pretending we are something or someone we are not, takes away our peace! Wallowing in unforgiveness and unconfessed sin, takes away our peace as well as ungodly and vengeful attitudes and acts will interfere with us experiencing the Peace of God. When we attempt to connect our desires by using the name of God with the assumption that God will give us whatever we want, we set ourselves up for disappointment and failure. When we are persistent with the pretense of being in control at all costs, lying and misleading others, we will have no peace, and we sabotage God’s desire for us to live in peace. Also, worry is the enemy of peace, and when we choose to worry rather than exercise faith, we cannot live in peace.
The Bible is replete with examples of the opposite happening to God’s people. Just ask the Apostle Paul penned in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, “Even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So, to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me.” (NLT)
What Is This “Peace of God” And How Can We Experience Peace in the Midst of Chaos?
Peace is congruent with the character of God. If God is peace, then to know God as Savior and Lord mean I can recline in His peace! The Peace of God puts us in a state of tranquility with quietness of spirit that transcends any situation and the circumstances of life. The term Peace is described in Scripture as a gift from God and a fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 6:15 It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. May God’s Peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God. (NLT)
God gives us His Peace when we obedient making our requests known to God and trusting HIM for the results. God is Sovereign and because of His great LOVE He knows what is best for us, even when we do not like it, and it does not always make sense to us, God wants us to TRUST HIM and we can rest in His Peace.
A PEACEFUL 
HEART, Experiencing the Peace of God means we have a clear conscience. Jesus went to the cross just for us and the weight of our sins was placed on the cross. When we accept Him as Savior and Lord, God the Father adopts us as His own children and invites us to “come boldly before the throne of grace” to commune with Him and ask for what we need, as noted in Hebrews 4:16. To experience the Peace of God, as Christians, we maintain that peace by confessing our sins and failures to Him. Titus 3:5 reminds us that “He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.” “You are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. “ Psalm 32:7 (NLT)
FATHER GOD, Thank You for adopting us as Your Children and we can call You Abba Father! Thank You! Help us to experience more and more of Your grace and peace as we grow in the knowledge of who You are, in the Precious, Powerful and Preeminent Name of Jesus Christ or Savior and Lord, Amen!