Peace on Earth
Those who walk uprightly enter into peace.
Isaiah 57:2
Everybody wants peace in this world, but that might not always be possible. Peaceful co-existence is a desire that we all share, but it is not our primary goal. What frustrated parent doesn’t want peace in the home? The only way you can guarantee that is to control every other member in the household, which you have no right or ability to do. Paul said, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18). It isn’t always possible, however, because achieving peace doesn’t just depend on you.
Jesus said that we should “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). Isaiah said, “The fruit of that righteousness will be peace” (32:17). That kind of peace is related to our internal order, not to the external order of this world. Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Peace on earth is what we want, but peace with God is something we already have. “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). The peace of God that guards our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus is something we need to appropriate on a daily basis (see Philippians 4:7). The only One who can give us that peace is the Prince of Peace. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). The peace of Christ that rules in our hearts stands in stark contrast to the false prophets of this world. “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush” (Jeremiah 6:14-15).
We should pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for all the troubled spots in the world. We should seek to unite this world in peaceful reconciliation, because Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). Peace can be humanly negotiated so that we can coexist without destroying ourselves, but that kind of peace only heals superficial wounds. The tension will always be there unless we resolve the inner conflicts. To accomplish inner peace, we have to work toward righteousness, and “its effect will be quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17). We can have an inner peace in the midst of an external storm.
Peace comes when you quiet your heart before the Lord. In the midst of confusion, acknowledge God’s presence in your life—a discipline the Quakers used to refer to as “centering down”—and then join in this prayer by John Greenleaf Whittier, one of America’s most famous Quakers: “Drop Thy still dews of quietness, till all our strivings cease; take from our souls the strain and stress, and let our ordered lives confess, the beauty of Thy peace.”
a few questions to ponder:
Why is peaceful co-existence in this world not always possible to attain?
How does the peace God offers differ from the peace that the false prophets of this world offer?
How can we have the peace of God in the midst of external chaos?
How could you “center down” and find peace on a daily basis?
How could you be a peacemaker at home, church and work?
Neil T. Anderson is the founder of Freedom in Christ Ministries. He began the ministry in 1989 and continues to spread the message of freedom to this day.