Fear vs Peace

Dear friends in Christ,

What an amazing blessing it is to write my very first article for JTMR. I praise God for every opportunity to share His word.

This last week whenever I would do bible study or open my bible, the word “peace” would be there. I felt in my heart that I wanted to search my bible to find out more about what God’s peace is all about, as I am sure you would agree that we  could all do with more of that in our lives. By mid week, I realised that “peace” was only half of what God was trying to make clear to me. The other half was being awakened again, to how we can keep that peace and not allow it to slip from our lives.

Let’s begin by just thinking for a minute about what God’s peace really means to us, who are His children. I believe God’s peace in our lives means:

1: Peace that reaches a deeper place than our emotions are able to influence.

2: Peace that is felt in EVERY aspect of our lives ,no matter what our worldly

circumstances are. In other words, a deep inner peace.

3: Peace that connects us to and brings us closer to our Creator.

We can’t have God’s peace just some of the time or in some areas of our lives. I believe it’s a package deal, which includes your heart, mind, soul, spirit and body. Peace over your finances, work, future, family, health, faith, relationship with God etc. God clearly tells us in Galatians 5, that if we have given our lives to Him, we have died to the sinful nature of this world and we are made new to “walk in the Spirit”.

( Gal 5:24-25.) If so, then we should certainly bear the fruit of the Spirit, of which peace is one .We should want to bear it in the deepest parts of our innermost being, where God’s Spirit works in us. But so many of us struggle to find peace about who we are in Christ. So many of us never really experience that deep inner peace and it keeps us from growing closer to our loving heavenly Father.

This is the question so many of us ask on a daily basis: How? How do I fill my life with God’s peace in the world and times we live in? Dear friends, its not that difficult at all!! We receive it by TRUSTING what our God’s Word, our Bible tells us. If you accept Jesus Christ into your life as your Saviour and Father, then John 14:27 (“Peace I leave with you. MY peace I GIVE to you”.), applies TO YOU & YOUR LIFE. Period.

Please realise that God has already given you His peace. All you need to do is say “Thank you God, I accept it, through Your blood that paid the price.” You have the RIGHT as a child of the King of Kings, to have every bit of peace that God has to offer. Accept that our God IS in control, He HAS a plan for YOUR life, His timing IS perfect and you CAN be at peace.

Declare in the Name of Jesus Christ that His peace IS UPON you and trust Him for it. ( Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep him in PERFECT PEACE, whose mind is stayed on You, because he TRUSTS in You.”) Stand firm on what your bible teaches you and God WILL come through for you. (Philippians 4:6-7.)

Now, let’s think for a moment. What is one of the biggest threats to our peace, that we as Christians face? ( And this is the part I really feel God spoke to me about and which I feel I need to share with you.) During my bible study last week, John 14:27 was the initial verse that stirred something in my soul and I kept reading it over and over again. Later that night, God gave me the exact same verse in my journal, as I was turning to a new page to start writing on it. John 14:27 was printed at the bottom of the page, and I had not yet seen the page before that. My heart was pounding in my chest as I felt God speaking to me.

The very next morning when I got to work and opened my little box of random daily bible verses, what pops up? John 14:27. Praise God! It was all the confirmation I needed. Just read the whole verse with me please. “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. LET NOT YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED, NEITHER LET IT BE AFRAID.” Then I understood. FEAR! God specifically warns us about fear. Think about it, dear friends, FEAR has the ability to TOTALLY erase peace in EVERY aspect of our lives. Satan knows we are human, controlled by human emotions and vulnerable. The very moment he plants a seed of fear in our lives, peace flies out the window.

Peace of mind, peace in your heart, peace in your soul. Then, he has us where he wants us, we begin to doubt, and when we doubt, the next thing that flies out the window is faith! It’s a very dangerous place to be and it leads to Christians being unsure of whether God is really there for them. My friends in Christ. DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU. It is NOT what God wants or has planned for us. Do not let fear of anything steal your peace. Fear is NOT of God and you DON’T need it in your life. If you accept God, He Himself IS YOUR PEACE- Ephesians 2:14. He IS there for you; You ARE entitled to all the peace He gives- He has given it to you on a hill called mount Calvary.

Please take His peace today. Just close the door to fear and whenever satan wants to attack you, remember what God tells you in John 27:14, Isaiah 26:3, Philippians 4:6-7. It is your right. It is your inheritance, in the name of Jesus Christ. God, our Holy Father. Thank you for showing us again that we are heirs to the King of Kings. We pray that Your peace, which surpasses all understanding will rest upon the heart and in the mind and soul of every one of us who choose to say “yes” to you and “no” to fear. Amen.

Lizz

(Scripture is taken from the New King James Version, unless stated differently.)