Recently a precious believer asked me to pray with her for peace, and as we prayed, His peace came to her. Afterwards, I told her I would prepare some Scripture references on the subject and get them to her so she could read them, study them and hopefully memorize many of them. I know that the word of God is key to our living the abundant life Jesus came to give us.
As I prepared these for her, I thought about you. I share these Scriptures with you in the hope that this compilation will be a help to your life also. Regardless of your experience level with Jesus, I believe it will do you good to read and mediate these promises concerning the peace of God.
Most think that peace just means freedom from disturbance, the absence of strife or a place of quiet. These qualities alone are great but the Biblical concept of peace is far more significant. The Old Testament word for peace is Shalom which means: to be whole, safe, sound, secure, complete, finished, to prosper. Wow! I heard that the most literal meaning of Shalom is—nothing missing, nothing broken. This is how God wants His children to live life, and He makes it possible through Jesus Christ!
- The foundation of lasting peace is a right relationship with God through Jesus: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).
When you know that you are in right relationship with Almighty God, you need not sweat over the small things. Everything else is tiny compared to being in right relationship with the Lord.
- God desires that each of His children live life in the peace. Almost every New Testament letter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, begins with this expression: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 1:3).
- Notice that by faith we have peace with God, and we receive peace from God. But then read: John 14:27, where Jesus says to us, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Did you catch it? Jesus promised to give us HIS peace! The very same peace He possessed while He lived on earth and overcame temptation, self, sickness, sin and Satan. He gives us the same kind of peace He experiences.
- So we have peace with God, peace from God and it is the peace of God. So the Holy Spirit instructs us to: “Let the peace of God … rule in your hearts” (Col. 3:15a).
- How do we let the peace that Jesus gives us rule (take the lead place) in our life?
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with gratitude, make your requests known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will protect your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7).
Again, we see that this peace is a gift from God to His children. And He doesn’t give a run-of-the-mill kind of cheapened peace. No, He gives us His peace. But we must choose to follow the lead of God’s peace by praying believing prayers instead of worrying.
- We must consistently choose to set our thoughts on the promises of God and the God who promised. “”You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isa. 26:3).
- Learning to train our thought life means we choose to think on God’s words and promises instead of our meditating on our own words and/or the words of family and friends. This is key to living in real peace. “To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Rom. 8:6).
Thinking God’s way results in God’s life and peace released in our lives.
- The apostle Peter tells us that peace exponentially increases in our life as we grow in our knowledge of Jesus: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Pet. 1:2).
As we must choose to pursue more understanding of the truth found in the word of God and the presence of Jesus, we can live a life filled with the “nothing missing, nothing broken” shalom of God.
- To live this way is impossible without faith. And to live in strong faith, God’s Word must become the first priority and final authority of our lives: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17).
- Look what happens when you live in greater faith:
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13).
You can be filled with “all peace” in believing. So choose to let God’s Word give you a new way of thinking and bring you to a new dimension of faith where you learn to live in the power of His peace. And don’t forget that peace is also a fruit of the Spirit (see Gal. 5:22). The spirit of Jesus in you is working to produce His peace inside you. All you need to do is learn to let Him take the rule, and you can rest in confidence that He has you.
I pray this helps you. You can help us and others by taking the time to comment other verses and practical practices that strengthen you in His peace.
Keith Nix is the founding pastor of a thriving congregation, The Lift Church in Sevierville, Tennessee. He has traveled as an international evangelist since 1993 carrying a unique prophetic message of awakening to this generation. 2018 marks the 21st year of leading an impacting youth camp: TribeAwakening.org for information. He and his wife, Margie, have one daughter, Isabella. To learn more and get a free audio download, you can visit KeithNix.org You can connect with Keith on Twitter here: twitter.com/KeithNixTV.
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