God's Continual Peace, Pt. 1

God is so kind to grant us perfect peace, a tranquility and serenity of the soul that passes understanding.

God's Continual Peace, Pt. 1

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

(John 14:27)

This week in our devotions, we will look at the topic of God's continual, abiding peace. In Dr. Charles Stanley's "30 Life Principles" series of messages, he lists as the 12th principle, "The Key to Continued Peace".

I praise God for His perfect Peace. One of the LORD'S names in the Old Testament is Jehovah Shalom, the LORD is Peace. One of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is peace. God is so kind to grant us perfect peace, a tranquility and serenity of the soul that surpasses understanding. As I write this devotion today, I, like many of you, have numerous things going on in my life. Some are challenging while others are very exciting. During all these circumstances, the Lord gives me peace. God's peace and joy are constant. Our circumstances will be challenging at times, but God's peace remains.

Dr. Charles Stanley shared a wonderful message on the topic of God's peace. He asked, can you have real peace when things are messed up, uncertain, when you feel pain in your body or negative emotions, when you just cannot straighten things out? How can you have peace? The answer is an emphatic, "Yes! We can have peace, and that peace is only found in Jesus."

All of us face hard times, and we ask God, "Where are You? Why don't You help me, heal me, deliver me, bring them back into my life?" etc. The key to continuing peace and not being on an emotional roller-coaster is found only in Christ. We will all experience hard times when sorrow comes to our souls. But God's perfect peace is available for His people if we believe and trust Him for it. In the hardest times, when you and I just can't handle it and we are at our wit's end, we can still have a peace that overrides those feelings, a peace so deep and tranquil in spite of everything. I am reminded of these wonderful verses about God's peace in Isaiah 26:3-4:

"You will keep him in perfect peace (Hebrew: shalom, shalom)
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
Trust in the Lord forever,
For in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength."

Dr. Stanley said when he looked back over his life, there was a point when everything was threatened. He said he would have one thousand reasons for being afraid, but when he received the difficult call, he said he had the most wonderful peace and serenity in his life. He prayed to God, "You have guided me through my life, and You will guide me now."

God's Peace is not something that comes and goes, peace today but war tomorrow; this peace of God is a continuing, abiding peace.