The Lord of peace wants to give us peace
“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.” 2 Thessalonians 3:16 (NLT).
Think that you can have this heavenly peace in your heart, always, in all situations and under all circumstances! This is the new, natural life that the Lord of peace wants to give us. When we have this life, everything else will become strange and unnatural. God's kingdom is about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). It is impossible for anything else to be part of this blessed kingdom.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9 (NIV). Those who are not peacemakers will be called something else. They have a master who has no peace to give them, only the opposite. The whole world is filled with chaos, unrest and worry. “‘There is no peace for evil people,’ says the Lord.” Isaiah 48:22 (NCV).
The Lord of peace, Jesus Christ, always had peace. He had power and authority over all situations. He was lying in the back of the boat, sleeping, while the disciples were full of unrest and fear because of the storm. Jesus said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” Mark 4:37-41 (ESV).
Jesus called being afraid unbelief. If we have a childlike trust in Christ, knowing that He knows us, sees us, loves us, and arranges everything so that it works together for our good, then the peace of God, which is far greater than what we can understand, will fill our hearts and thoughts (Philippians 4:7).
“But I will bless the person who puts his trust in me. He is like a tree growing near a stream and sending out roots to the water. It is not afraid when hot weather comes, because its leaves stay green; it has no worries when there is no rain; it keeps on bearing fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8 (GNT). Yes, this is how it is with all those who trust in the Lord and whose hope is in the Lord. They are precious in the Lord's eyes and filled with goodness in this dark and cold world.
Friends of the Lord of peace
The Lord of peace gives His peace to His friends. His friends are those who love Him and keep His commandments, who do whatever He tells them to do. (John 14:21; John 15:14.)
You cannot separate peace from righteousness, from keeping His commandments. That is why it is written: “If only you had listened to my commands! Your peace would be like a river [that never runs dry]. Your righteousness would be like waves on the sea.” Isaiah 48:18 (GW). “Great peace have those who love Your law…” Psalm 119:165. “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” Isaiah 26:3 (NLT). How safe and good it is to have our thoughts fixed on Christ. Then we will always have peace.
Jesus said we shouldn’t worry about things. (Luke 12:29.) “Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it? If you can't manage even such a small thing, why worry about the other things?” Luke 12:25-26 (GNT). We can’t help anyone by worrying and being in unrest. But if we have a living faith, life becomes rich and interesting, and we will have great joy and peace.
There has to be peace at the command post if a war is to be won. This is also how we need to have it in our hearts so that we can overcome. Therefore, we read, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23 (NIV).
If we want to always have peace, then we must give up our own will and only want to do God‘s will. It is impossible to have peace as long as we have demands on others and want people to praise and honour us. We need to give ourselves completely over to the God of peace. Our only goal should be to serve Christ. Then sanctification can begin in us.
Sanctification is when our sinful nature is being changed to becoming a godly nature, by always saying No when we are tempted to sin, by never giving in to sin. Then our sinful nature is replaced little by little by the fruits of the Spirit – by godly nature (Romans 12:2, 2 Peter 1:4).
Peace and sanctification
Peace and sanctification go together. If we want to have peace without sanctification, without getting rid of sin, we will get a “dead” peace, and we will end up among those who are spiritually dead. “A man who leaves the path of understanding ends up with those who are dead.” Proverbs 21:16 (NIRV). This is where most people are today. Many preachers tell believers they are “under the blood”, where they can safely live in all kinds of sins. Most of the prophets in the old covenant spoke lies and so it is also in the time of the new covenant.
“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord…” Hebrews 12:14 (NIV). “Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody.” Romans 12:18 (GNT). If we are not properly set free from the world and the things in the world, there will always be unrest around us—even about small things.
Read Romans 14 and see how Paul told them to keep the peace with their brothers who might be weaker in the faith or think differently about certain things. In Romans 14:19 (NIRV) he writes, “So let us do all we can to live in peace. And let us work hard to build each other up.”
The kingdom of the Prince of Peace
Jesus is called the Prince of Peace. The millennium will be a kingdom of righteousness and peace, which He will set up together with all those who have received this kingdom into their hearts now. “Look at those who are honest and good, for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace.” Psalm 37:37 (NLT).