The Bible tells us that we have peace that surpasses understanding, but what exactly is the peace of God, and how can we find it today and every day? When I think of peace, I picture a beach and lazy living. In my mind, I imagine a vacation-like atmosphere where I do nothing, but is that really what God means in the Bible (Philippians 4:7)?
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Like most people I know, I feel that the everyday busyness of life threatens my peace at times. I have family responsibilities, but I must keep up with work timelines and deadlines as a working mom. Sometimes, dealing with the hustle and bustle of work stress can feel overwhelming, and I long for more peace. Let’s take a closer look at the peace of God in the Bible and how to obtain it.
Peace Defined
The Hebrew word for peace is shalom, which means harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare, and tranquility. When we read the Bible, we see God described as the God of Peace.
Peace and love are some of God’s many characteristics. True peace comes from Him. As we look again at the definition of peace, we could describe God by the exact words used to define peace. God is harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare, and tranquility.
When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden tree and allowed sin into their life, they could no longer live in the peaceful place of the Garden of Eden. When they sinned, humanity no longer experienced peace with God. Because of sin, humankind no longer lived in peace and harmony with God, and we did not have access to the peace of God.
Thankfully, God sent a rescue mission in his son, Jesus. Interestingly as the coming of Jesus was foretold in the Old Testament, one of the names for Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus came to earth to help us obtain peace with God, and in doing so, He gave us a chance to once again experience the peace of God in our lives.
Peace With God
As Christians, we celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus because we understand that Jesus purchased our salvation with His life. We recognize that Jesus freely sacrificed His life to give us peace with God. He is the only reason that we have peace with God.
All Christians who come to God by praying for forgiveness and salvation as repentant sinners confess that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins on the cross, and we trust in Him to forgive our sins and save us. We believe that Jesus took our place and absorbed the wrath of God in our stead. Jesus made peace with God by doing so, so we did not have to.
Jesus was sinless, but He paid for our sins, and now he gives us this peace when we accept all He did as a gift of salvation. Our peace with God is secure and given to us only due to Jesus’ sacrifice, as we could never have earned peace with God on our own. We know that we can find joy and peace in God because of Jesus, but sometimes, when the enemy tries to attack, we lose sight of the truth.
Peace Of God
Peace is a gift from God given to His children and becomes available at salvation. Although provided, the Bible often tells us that we must pursue it, walk in it, and live in it. We must strive to live in the peace of God, peace with ourselves, and peace with other people. We have to choose to turn away from evil, seek peace, and pursue it (1 Peter 3:11)
The peace of God is like a place or a state of living where we can live in harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare, and tranquility with the Father. We live in the peace of God due to salvation, and although we may fall short, we seek and access forgiveness for sin by praying to ask God to forgive us.
How Can We Find Peace?
We can live in a world where so much is happening and still live in God’s peace. God offers us peace even when it feels like life is falling apart. We can experience the peace of God all day and every day when we keep our minds fixed on God and trust Him regardless of our circumstances (Isaiah 26:3). We must learn to seek peace.
The Bible commands Christians to live in peace with others. We can all do this when we remember all that Jesus had provided for us. As we accept Jesus as our peace, we remember who He is, what He has done for us, and who we are in Him. Knowing Jesus as our Prince of Peace gives us the right to experience calm as we rest in His love and peace. We must keep our eyes upon Him and our minds renewed in His Word. Although there may not be peace in our earthly world, we Christians can have peace on earth due to Jesus’ incredible sacrifice.
As we learn to live in a place of peace in God, it becomes easier to refuse to let the enemy cause us to forfeit our precious gift of peace. The enemy will try to cause us to become anxious, depressed, fearful, and regretful. When we learn to live in the peace of God, we can see that any negative words that the enemy whispers into our ears to make us feel less than or beneath our God-given rights as children of God are just noise. As we come to Jesus and find peace, we will recognize that the enemy is attacking our peace with ourselves.
Additionally, there will be times when the enemy will attempt to attack our peace regarding our relationships with others. The enemy will always try to make us angry and upset with others. The enemy wants us to lose our cool and handle situations negatively. We must consciously decide to pray and resist the devil, and He will flee. We will become better able to see those disagreements with others or relationship problems as attacks from the enemy, and we must refuse to let him win.
God’s Word, promises, and voice bring peace into our lives. As we read the Bible, believe in God’s promises, and listen for His voice in prayer, God will send His Holy Spirit to comfort us and remind us that we are not alone. The Holy Spirit helps us live the Christian life. Let’s pray and ask God to help us live in His peace today and every day.
A Prayer For Peace
Knowing that Jesus gave His life to bring us peace with God and that he left us the peace of God, Christians can no longer allow the enemy the opportunity to rob us of the joy, peace, and hope that Jesus’ blood purchased. When we realize that we have access to peace even in the middle of chaos but only need to seek and pursue it, we should find ourselves praying. Let’s pray with faith and expectancy about our God-given peace today.
