Peace Within

Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times in every way.
The Lord be with you all. ~ 2 Thessalonians 3:16 

This morning I woke up thinking about peace. Not just any peace though – the peace of God. I’ve found that many people obtain peace from their status, their money, their career, their title, their spouse, their ministry, house, and/or cars, etc. However, those are just things and people; they don’t provide long lasting peace. They provide a false sense of peace; a false sense of security if you will. They can all be taken away should God see fit to do so. I’m talking about peace that surpasses all human understanding (Phil. 4:7). Peace that only God can provide no matter the circumstance, no matter who comes and who goes. The peace of God, that no matter what circumstances we face, we can be at ease. This kind of peace, only God Himself can provide. Let me be clear, God provides all of those earthly things for us to enjoy. But they shouldn’t be our sole source for peace. He alone is our Source for peace. After all, Jesus is the Prince of Peace.

Definition of Peace 

Some people love math, some love art, some love history and so forth. I love words. I love to research the definition of words and their origins. So naturally, I looked up the biblical definition of peace.

PEACE -- Shalom (Hebrew: שָׁלוֹם shalom; also spelled as sholom, sholem, sholoim, shulem)
1. In a general sense, a state of quiet or tranquility; freedom from disturbance or agitation; applicable to society, to individuals, or to the temper of the mind.

2. Freedom from agitation or disturbance by the passions, as from fear, terror, anger, anxiety, or the like; quietness of mind; tranquility; calmness; quiet of conscience.

3. Heavenly rest; the happiness of heaven.

How Do We Obtain This Peace?

The bible tells us in Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” With all that has taken place in this world over the past few months, God is saying, “Don’t worry, don’t be anxious, but pray." He then promises in Philippians 4:7, “that the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” One of my favorite scriptures is Isaiah 26:3 which promises, “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Essentially, we have to keep our minds on Christ and His Word. We have to keep God’s promises at the forefront of our minds. So many times, we lose our peace because our minds are everywhere else except for where it needs to be – on Jesus. Philippians 4:8 gives us direct instructions on how to maintain our peace, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” We have to make a conscious decision to keep our minds on these things. If we don’t, we’ll allow our minds to wonder and wander into dangerous territory which can threaten our peace. We have to be careful about what we think about. As Joyce Meyer would say, “We have to think about what we’re thinking about.” All the negative thoughts and what ifs, we have to cast those thoughts down, take them captive, and make them obedient to Christ (2 Corin. 10:5). 

I pray that God gives you peace today and throughout the remainder of this year, no matter what you face. He’s able to give you peace in the midst of chaos and tranquility in the midst of turmoil. Peace is your portion.

Be Blessed & Encouraged,💓

A.M.