We live in a world that is searching for peace. Many people would give anything to have peace in their life and sadly, many people just don’t know where to find it. Instead of going to the Source of peace, it seems so often we look in every other possible place we think it may reside. We look to people, relationships, and even a change in circumstances in order to achieve peace. We even look to cultural practices of the mind like yoga and meditation – all of it in an attempt to generate peace on our own, when really, we could never create peace on our own because peace does not originate with us nor is it the result of our own works.
In the ninth chapter of Isaiah and verse six, we find several names for Christ: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Jesus is called many things in that verse. He’s the Mighty God, He is an Everlasting Father, He is the Son of God, but the one name in particular that grabs our attention is the Prince of Peace. It may be easy to accept that He is a Mighty God and the Everlasting Father, even the Son of God; but for many of us, hearing that name “Prince of Peace” is harder to accept because peace is something we don’t see much of in the world or maybe even in our own life. Peace was the message that was brought at Christ’s birth, but it wasn’t world peace – it was a spiritual peace. Luke 2:14 says, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” How do we know this wasn’t world peace, but rather a spiritual peace? Well, He made it very clear that He did not come to bring peace to the earth. Jesus says in Matthew 10:34-36, “Don’t assume I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.” Again, it’s important to remember that the peace that Jesus came to bring was not peace between people and nations. It’s peace between God and man, and we find this truth in John 14:27 where Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. I don’t give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.” He’s making very clear the distinction between His peace and the peace that the world offers.
The peace that comes from Christ is a peace like no other. The peace that the world offers is superficial; it is a cheap, poor substitute for the genuine peace that comes from Christ. The peace from the world is something temporary to soothe your emotions. Jesus came to bring complete peace that comes from being reconciled to God. It’s personal and it’s not something that we can find in a store. We can’t find it in the world. It has to come from Christ and that’s why He says in John 14:27, “My peace I give to you.” Well, you can’t give what you don’t have. So the only reason that we’re able to have the peace of Christ is because He gives it to us in the first place. Paul even understood that this peace was not a result from an elimination of war or pestilence or evil. He tells us in Philippians 4:7, “The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Again, it’s the peace of God. It’s the peace of Christ. It’s not something that we can go and get on our own. We can’t work for it. We can’t manufacture it on our own; it has to come from God. It has to come from the Lord.
The Apostle Paul also tells us the benefits that come with the peace of God when he tells us that it “surpasses all understanding.” The poor substitute for peace that the world tries to give you cannot surpass all understanding because we’re the ones who made it up, so of course we’re going to understand it. In contrast, the peace that comes from God – the peace that is found in Christ alone – is going to go beyond comprehension. It’s not going to make sense. Immediately what comes to mind are so many friends and family members who have gone through horrible traumatic things, tragedies, loss, and suffering. We might wonder how on earth someone could possibly have peace in those situations, and yet when we visit with them or talk with them or go and meet them, they’re filled with peace. Their face is a picture of peace. It surpasses all understanding to the world, who looks on in amazement and wonders how a person could endure such tragedy and suffering and yet not be in despair. The world confusingly asks, “How come you are not hopeless? How come you are not in a deep depression and filled with fear and doubt and anxiety?” The answer is Christ. He is the Source of their peace and the object of their hope. When we place our trust in God, and make His Word our firm foundation, we come to understand that God is in control, and we are able to experience that “peace that passes understanding.”
Something else the Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 4:7 is the benefit of Christ’s peace: It guards our heart and our mind in Christ. It’s the peace of Christ that’s guarding our heart and our mind – not the other way around. It’s not our heart and our mind guarding our peace. His peace is like a watchman standing guard over our heart and over our mind. Why is that important? Because it’s in our heart and our mind where we start to develop fear, doubt, worry, and anxiety. That’s why it’s so important to stay in the Word – the Bible – because it’s God’s peace that guards our heart and our mind. But if we’re not in the Word, and we’re not hiding the Word in our heart, and not keeping it in our mind, then it’s not there to be a guard. It’s crucial that we spiritually feed ourselves – feast on God’s Word. Stay read up and prayed up! Why? Because when we neglect our prayer time and our Bible study time, it’s very easy to get caught up in the stress and the chaos of what’s going on around us. We can feel overwhelmed and the turmoil going on inside us can become louder than the Truth of God’s Word. It doesn’t take long before we realize we have no peace. One thing that you can do is to just turn off the news. Unplug from the source of the chaos and plug in to the Source of peace. You have to plug into God’s Word. If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus and His peace is not guarding your heart and mind, then what is guarding your heart and your mind? The news, the world, current events, and social media. That is a really poor guard of your heart and mind! That is not going to provide complete protection for your heart and mind. It is not going to provide adequate guarding of the two most important things in your body.
The invitation God gives us in His Word to have a relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ, allows us to have peace with God. Have you read what the Bible say about Jesus? Fill your mind with truth – God’s truth. It can’t be the truth that comes from the world. It’s not the world’s truth, which is subjective. Maybe you are a seasoned believer, but you’ve just kind of fallen away in the past year or more. You haven’t “blown it.” You can still restore that fractured relationship with God and experience His peace. Draw near to the Lord, return to Him, go back to church, pick up your Bible and begin reading again. It’s never too late
Reach out for accountability and meet up with other godly brothers and sisters in Christ. Share your struggles and be open and transparent with them. The Bible tells us in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” God’s not going to condemn you when you come back to Him; you are His child. He welcomes you to come back to Him and His peace is available to you.