Devotionals

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She was right. A friend and I were recently visiting about those times when things in life look impossible, when she said, "You know, there really is no price or value that a person can ever put on peace. It is our greatest commodity." She was absolutely right. You can have all the money in the world, but without peace money (and all the things money can buy) simply becomes a drug to cover up our pain. You can have friends and familiy around and near you all the time, but without peace these relationships can become co-dependent and dangerous for fear of being alone. But there is a peace that passes understanding that will guard your heart from being broken and your mind from being troubled; it is the peace of God.

Peace that passes all understanding is that state of spirit when although everything in the natural seems to be crushing in on you, demanding answers that you do not have, you are internally, emotionally, and mentally at rest. It is a state of mind that has no obvious explanation other than it is a gift from God, an assurance of His Presence.

Dictionaries define peace as a non-warring state between nations, a state of mutual harmony between people, and/or a state of mind characterized by tranquility. These are good definitions, and definitely true, but the peace my friend was speaking of is not of this world. It is the peace that comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ. It is our greatest commodity because it is synonymous with the word reconciliation.

When man was separated from God, Jesus came to bring reconciliation. If reconciliation is a synoym for peace, then we could say Jesus came to bring peace. When God restored man to Himself, He made peace with man. Therefore, "...we rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation {through whom we have now received peace}" (Romans 5:11, emphasis added).

Do you remember when Jesus went out on a boat with His disciples and fell asleep? The scriptures tell us that "A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. {All the while} Jesus was in the stern, {with His} head on a pillow, sleeping! {His disciples} roused him, saying, 'Teacher, is it nothing to you that we're going down?'" (Mark 4:37-38, Message). What did Jesus do? "Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Peace, be still!' And the wind ceased and there was a great calm" (Mark 4:39). When Jesus said, "Peace, be still" He was in essence saying, "Shhhhh, return to your normal state." I love that idea because God did not create us for chaos. "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace..." ( Corinthians 14:33). As God's creation, our normal state of being is to be at peace. We were created to be at peace with God, at peace with one another, and at peace with ourselves.

Some years ago, I was meditating on Philippians 4:6-7 which says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." As I considered what this passage of scripture meant, the Holy Spirit very softly spoke to my heart these words: "The peace of God will guard your heart from being broken and your mind from being troubled." Because I had personally experienced this kind of peace, I knew this to be true.

When Jesus bridged the gap between God and man, He bridged it with reconciliation. When people reject Jesus as Lord, they burn the bridge over which peace passes. This is why Paul told the Philippians that "...the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." It is only through His life that we receive anything from God.

When we maintain a right relationship with God, seeking first His Kingdom {His way of doing things} and His righteousness, then all these things (including peace) will be given to us (Matthew 6:33). Other translations describe the peace of God as that "...which exceeds anything we can understand...", that "....which goes beyond anything we can imagine...", and in its fullness "...a sense of God's wholeness."

And then the promise is that "...His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus" (New Living Translation). It will "...garrison and mount guard over your heart... displacing worry at the center of your life..." (Amplified and Message Translations). This is possible because of Christ Jesus who loved us and gave Himself for us.

Peace is a great commodity; it is something useful that can be turned to our advantage. When we exercise authority over our state of being by remembering the faithfulness of God, "...leaning not on our own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5), we are now adopting for our own the very words of Jesus when He said to the storm: "Shhhhh, return to your normal state." Then, and only then, regardless of anything else we think, know, or understand; regardless of how we feel or how things look, we are reminded to "Be still, and know that {He is} God..." (Psalms 46:10).

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