My beautiful wife has become hooked on the cable television show Shalom in the Home. It is what I call a Jewish version of the Dr. Phil Show. The difference is that Dr. Phil’s program is more of a talk show format where Rabbi Shmuley uses a hand’s on approach and gets his hands dirty by being directly involved with either a person’s own state of affairs or the struggle between interpersonal relationship’s. The ultimate goal of both shows is the issue of peace.
Many times when we think of peace, we think of the word that the Jewish people use: "Shalom," which we think as its definition being that of peace. But its real meaning is "order and well-being." So when they say “Shalom,” what they’re really declaring is “In your life may you have order and well-being,” or “May you have a valid perception of security,” or “May you have a genuine awareness of a solid foundation underneath your feet.”
We need to understand that authentic peace is a byproduct of obedience to God and an assurance that he is in control of your and my life. And both of those ingredients must be there for us to have a sense of peace.
One of my favorite passages of Scripture about peace is one found within Isaiah’s pro-phecy: "I am the Lord your God who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way that you should go." And listen to this statement: "If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river and your righteousness like the waves of the sea."
Now, just take a moment with me as I emphasize some of the phrases found in this pas-sage. God says through the prophet Isaiah; "I’m the Lord your God." Do you and I really understand that statement? If so, then listen to the promises attached to that knowledge; "who teaches you." The Lord our God instructs us into what is the best for us. And then, "who directs you." In other words, He teaches us, he directs us in the way that we should go. If we follow his wisdom and we obey his guidelines, then he says we’ll have, "peace" that will be "like a river." I’m sure that’s where the lyrics come from in the hymn I Have Peace Like a River. God goes on by declaring that "We’ll have peace like a river and our righteousness will be like the waves of the sea."
In this same passage of Scripture God talks about the fact that there is no peace for the wicked. So the peace that I feel like talking to you about today, is the peace that Paul talks about, which is part of the fruit of the spirit in your and my life, is a direct result of being obedient to God and giving him complete control of our lives. It gives us an awareness of self-assurance. Let me illustrate.
In the Old Testament is the story of Gideon. We pick up the story where Gideon is in the winepress, threshing wheat. He’s in hiding because the enemy, the Philistines, have constantly, for several years now during the harvest season, come in and plundered the land of Israel. So here’s Gideon. He’s hoping to get enough wheat together for some flour for bread for his family without the Philistines coming and taking it away from him. And all of a sudden, intersecting this story appears God. He finds Gideon in his hiding place and says to him, "Oh, Gideon, man of valor." It’s kind of amusing. God looks at Gideon and calls him a man of valor, of courage, and of course what is he doing? He’s hiding.
God gazes at Gideon and says, "I would like you to be the leader of the children of Israel." And God expresses to Gideon that he wants him to do battle. Now, what’s fascinating is that at the end of this dialogue with God, Gideon erects an altar to Jehovah Shalom. In other words, he constructs an altar to the God of peace. Now, isn’t this out of the ordinary? Here Gideon, in apprehension because of a larger oppressive enemy, is about to go and do combat against that rival, and he makes a sacrifice to the God of peace.
How can Gideon make a sacrifice to the God of peace when there’s all sort of tension around him? When he is confronting an awful gloomy episode in his life, where he’s going to set out to do warfare, where there’s going to be all manner of antagonism, how can Gideon make an altar to the God of peace in that condition? Very simple; you see, Gideon understands Jehovah Shalom. He understands godly serenity. What it means is that one has a sense of refuge, a rationality of direction, and a sensible rational of the presence of God in the midst of tension, turmoil, hostility, and battle. The peace that God assures you and me is not a peace deficient of difficulty. What he promises is, to locate us in the midst of our mess, our struggle, our gloomy days, and stroll into our inner being and speak peace to our spirit: Even while everything around us is unraveling and becoming disconnected. That’s the peace that God promises.
There are two misconceptions that I want to talk about first before we even begin to look deeper into the biblical peace that Paul is talking about in this morning’s text from Galatians.
The first misconception that we often have about peace is its purpose is not just to avoid a crisis. Just because you or I have failed to converse about a difficulty doesn’t mean that we have peace. Unresolved conflict many times is the very core of many of today’s marriages disintegra-ting. And so, just because you and I botched because we have not discussed and negotiated a resolution to the matter, doesn’t necessarily mean that we actually have peace.
The second misconception is that it is not just to pacify another person. It’s not an appeasement. It’s not me just trying to make you feel fine or just to get along with you. It’s not where one person triumphs and the other person loses, where one person persistently calms down the other, by trying to do anything possible to make some kind of a bogus harmony within the family structure or within a working relationship.
Now, if you look in God’s word, there are two understandings of peace for the believer. I’ll kind of preview both of them and specifically emphasize one of them this morning.
The first understanding is that there is peace with God – it’s a spiritual phenomenon. Jesus says, "I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give. It is not like the peace that this world can give. So don’t be worried or afraid."
When we begin to reason that we have peace with God what we’re really declaring is that God, through his Son Jesus, the Christ on a cross, has absolved us of our sins and our heart no longer convicts us. John says, "If our heart condemns us not, then we have confidence toward God." It’s a peace that comes in the knowledge that our sins are exonerated and that Jesus, the Christ is our Savior. It’s a peace that comes from an awareness that our name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. It’s a peace that comes from the comprehension that God the Father will never, never, as the Hebrew writer says, "forsake us or leave us." It’s what John Wesley, that great churchman and Christian leader in the 1700s, expressed when he said about the people he pastored: "My people die well." What does he suggest? He’s implying that when the godly person approaches the time of death, he/she has a peace that only God can provide.
It’s a peace that assists us to comprehend that God manages our all, which this life is not all there is, that our sins are forgiven, that life carries on and on and there is an everlasting life for those of us who believe and trust in and through Jesus, the Christ. That’s the kind of peace that we’re sharing about this morning. It’s a peace that I have had since being a 17-year-old kid, reading that passage, "If the heart condemns us not." It’s that peace that comes when the Spirit of God bears witness with my spirit that I am a child of God.
The second understanding about the peace of God is that it is also an emotional senti-ment. If we cannot discover peace within ourselves, it is futile to seek it superficially.
Remember the assurance given to us by God through the Apostle Paul? He says, "We know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans." "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
We can perceive then that it’s a peace of God which comes through our existence as God’s children, especially during our darkest moments in time. We can surely be aware of it. It keeps us stable when there is the tendency within us to not be confident. Paul is telling us that if we are devoted to God and are obediently walking according to his plans, then everything that occurs to us, rather tremendous or horrific, is for our benefit. When Paul says that we know all things work mutually for our good value, he’s saying we know all things work for your and my ultimate good.
There are some things that you and I will never understand as long as we live here on earth. Paul says we look through a glass as though we are puzzled; in other words, our mental picture is not lucid. In this earthly life with worldly situations around us, there is stuff that is going to happen to us where we’ll say, "It’s not for my good. I don’t like it. I don’t understand it. It brings pain to me. It brings grief to me. It brings sorrow to me."
But recognizing that God is sovereign and in control, Paul says, "All things work together for good, for the ultimate good." Consequently, we will not recognize them all here on this side of eternity. But in God’s grand design, not only for us, but for all his elect, in due course, way beyond what our eyesight can notice, what our faith can even every now and then take hold of; this exceptional quality of God’s goodness toward us is something that in God’s sovereignty he has planned and it will ultimately be for our advantage.
You and I can’t even comprehend the peace of God; in other words, we can feel the peace of God without, in actuality, perceiving it. Isn’t that great?
Have you ever thought of peace as a defensive measure? Peace is the nucleus of your and my spirit, is the entryway of our inner private thoughts, always defending, safeguarding us and permitting us to have tranquility in midst of hardship. You say, "Pastor Paul, does that mean that I can have peace in my life even when I’m going through a dreadful moment, regardless of my inward distress?" I’m saying that’s exactly the peace that we’re speaking about biblically this morning.
This morning in this service I can see a precious couple here that has been through the mill during this past summer with a daughter who has been plagued with cancer, undergoing treatment and not knowing the outcome until recently. This passed week they have had to experience the passing of very close family members due to an accident. They wonder, “When will all these awful things that is plaguing our family come to an end? We need some peace, Lord!”
I can see a lady that is very active with her family, the individuals here in this church and at the work place, that she and other family members were injured by a drunk driver in an accident while far away from home. Then following that she has had to undergo treatment for a racing infection of a joint in her body and is now home still administering antibiotics to herself through a pick line. She wonders, “Why me, Lord? Why am I the one who deserves this mistreatment? Isn’t there anyone else more deserving who is disobedient to Your Word and teachings? When will I have enough peace in my life to move on?”
I can see a great man of faith being worn down by antagonizing back pain to the point at times he wonders if he is going to be able to move. Presently he is subjecting himself to spinal injections just in order to find some relief. And he wonders, “Is this really going to work like the doctor says it will? Lord, as the Great Physician, please bring me enough peace amid the pain to cope with my day-to-day living.”
I can see one of our elderly ladies weakening before my eyes. She is a woman of great faith and has been a very active soul in the life of this church. It has even come to the point that she has reluctantly considered backing out of a few things. Also, she has become a deep concern of her spouse of many years who also is no longer able to be as active as he used to as well. I am sure the two of them wonder, “After all we have been faithful to you and your kingdom. Isn’t there any way that our golden years can be that of your peace in our souls and a strengthening of our physical well-being?”
I can see one individual who actually does not know the activities or the exact whereabouts of a drug addicted, prodigal daughter. Wondering everyday whether or not the next phone call she gets is going to be the good news that her daughter is headed home to seek rehabilitation for her disease or the worst news she could ever hear, her daughter is dead. Mom wonders, “When will she finally understand who Jesus really is and give her life to You? That’s the only place that I know she will find real inner peace.”
I can see a man who has had to deal a number of years with pain and loss of ability to keep up his stamina. He has had to take excessive amounts of prescribed medication just to cope with all the stress his physical body entails. He now realizes that part of his life is missing due to some of these medications. He is a man who truthfully wants to be a great part of his family, but feels robbed of that due to his physical condition and emotional stability. After visiting and talking with him I know that he often wonders, “What about all these emotions I am feeling, God? Can I make it without the medications I’ve been dependent upon for years? All I seek is just a little peace and comfort in my life; will that ever come to be?”
I can see another lady in our midst today that has the knowledge that her place of employment is closing. Not only that, she like many other women of this church is a widow and trying to keep her home. Even though she has accepted the inevitable, I know she still has to wonder, “Okay, I’ve been able to make it this far with Your help, God. But, what about next week, next month and next year, Lord? Will I be able to have the peace that all things will work out for my best and Your glory?”
I know of families that are in the midst of strife and discontent where personal problems have magnified into marital malfunction or in the crux of things driving family members apart. They wonder, “Can’t we just get along and find some peace once again?”
I visit in the home of a man that barely can get about his home due to arthritis. Being crippled by this dreadful disease of the joints and boney tissue of the body he still maneuvers as best as he can to fix his own meals and do what chores he can. Yet, from hearing him speak to me, I know he often wonders, “Where will I be tomorrow, Lord? Will I still be here at home or am I finally going to have to give in and return to that nursing facility to have a peaceful existence?”
I can see a number of widows that have experienced the loss of her mate. I know that many of you struggle day-to-day with loneliness, being able to make ends meet and not knowing if your family will always be in the area to care for you. I often wonder, “Are they able to know that they are not alone, that they know that someone is watching over them and that He will never leave nor forsake them and that He will always be sure that their well-being is of great importance to Him? Please God, will You grant them Your peace in their minds, souls and hearts.”
Now I’m trying to share with you about a peace that transcends the human mind. I’m doing my best, with a God-given ability, to articulate about a peace that is beyond the grasp and the contact of humanity. I’m attempting to confer that the peace that God gives is one that the world cannot remove from its place or strip away or pilfer. I’m speaking, this morning, about a peace that only God can give. It’s a peace that will ultimately change any person’s life! Including yours and mine!
It is Well with My Soul is one of my much loved hymns. I don’t know if you might be familiar with the chronicle behind it or not, but the man who authored the lyrics of this beautiful hymn lost his whole family at sea. Horatio Spafford, a successful businessman, had dispatched his family ahead of him to Europe because he had been delayed by a business venture. The ship, upon which they were sailing, collided with another sea vessel and immediately took on water and sank. When Horatio received the cable from his bereaving wife of the loss of their four daughters stating concisely this message, “Saved alone.” Spafford quickly embarked upon a ship and cruised the sea himself, and he had the captain of the ship confirm, in close proximity, where his daughters went down to a watery grave. As he stood there at the railing and gazed solemnly at the burial site of those that he had loved, he got out his writing implement and note-pad, and he began to jot down these words, "It is well, it is well with my soul." Now that’s having an authentic peace with God that comes through Jesus, the Christ. It’s a peace of God which is the bequest for every believer that knows him personally.
So, we should never even attempt to resolve every concern of life on our own. We have to realize, as a child of God, we’re nothing like the secular world that engulfs us. We’re individuals in Jesus, the Christ that are forgiven and directed and empowered by a God who truly is moved by his compassion toward us and desires to grant us his peace, of which we are often unconscious of in our own understanding. But yet, I can promise you, that even though every issue is not always going to be resolved to our liking, God’s peace will accompany His solution.
Amen and amen!
