That brings us to the difficult question of whether it’s even possible to have peace in the world we live in. Many people would say that it is not. It’s only as we examine the perspective of God’s word that we come to understand how that peace is not only possible, but should be normal in the life of the person who has the Spirit inside.
What is peace?
Peace can be defined several different ways:
- Some would say peace is the opposite of war; peace comes when conflict and fighting ends.
- Others would describe peace as the state of law and order; we are free from reckless disturbances and disorder.
- Perhaps for you peace is quiet tranquility. Peace is a calm stillness that comes after the uproar and loudness of our children leave for school or finally settle down and go to bed!
- Or you might describe peace as an inner assurance or calm. Peace comes as you still your heart and mind and let go of your worries and fears.
- Augustine defined peace as, "the Tranquility of order."
Peace is a major theme in the Bible:
- It appears more than 250 times (153 times in the Old Testament and 97 times in the New Testament).
- It occurs at least 1 time in every one of the 39 books in the New Testament.
- In the OT peace is "shalom" which means "Wholeness, Completeness, harmony of life."
- In the NT the Greek word for peace means "inner well-being."
Peace in the New Testament is not about an absence of war or even an absence of interpersonal conflict in our lives. Peace in the New Testament is a tranquility of heart which derives from the all pervading knowledge that we are in the hands of God. True peace will never be possible until we realize that God is in control. John MacArthur said:
"Peace is knowing that we may get to the point where we can do nothing else, but that our all-powerful God has no such limits.”
"I have found a deep peace that I never had known and a joy this world could not afford since I yielded control of my body and soul to my wonderful, wonderful Lord"
Consider what Jesus said to His followers in John 14:27,
“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.”
First, look closely at what Jesus said. Notice how He described this peace that He wanted them to experience. Jesus described the peace He referred to here as "My Peace." If you look closely you will see that it was not only His peace, but He specifically said that He was giving it to them. The peace in question here is supernatural and it’s available to those who are followers of Christ.
Second, there’s another fact which makes this passage even more meaningful than it appears at first glance. Jesus experienced this peace on the night before the crucifixion. In other words, the peace He wanted them to have was the same peace He depended upon during the most difficult moments of His life. What He taught them here wasn’t based upon theory, it came out of the challenge He was facing at the very moment He challenged them with it. Let me tell you, someone who can be at peace in the midst of what Jesus was about to go through, is either out of touch with reality, or He has real peace.
So to answer our question: What is peace? We would say that peace is an inner calm, even in the midst of outward turmoil or calamity and this peace only comes from God!
Well, Jesus wasn’t the only character in the Bible who illustrated peace like this. There are many examples of peace in scripture; where people experienced peace at a time in their lives, when peace looked highly unlikely. There was Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who boldly told King Nebuchadnezzar that he could throw them in the furnace, but that they weren’t going to bow before his false god. They believed God was strong enough to take care of them, but they informed the king that even if He should chose not to rescue them, they still wouldn’t bow to his idol. And then there was Peter in the book of Acts chapter 12 verses 1 to 11. This is the example of peace I would like to focus on.
Think about this. What if when you closed your eyes you knew it would be the last time you would close your eyes to sleep. What if you knew when you went to bed tonight that tomorrow night you would be history, that you would never again hold the ones you loved, that you would never again be held by the ones who loved you. That you would never see another sunset, never hear another bird sing, never live another day. How would you sleep?
Maybe a better question: Do you think you’d be able to sleep? I’m not sure if I would be able to or if my mind would be racing with regrets and what if’s. Wondering if I had said good byes and thank-you’s to all the right people. Asking myself if I had left a mark and whether or not I’d be remembered. That was the situation that Peter was in, King Herod had ordered the execution of James who was the brother of John, maybe you remember him as one of the sons of Thunder or as one of the original group that Jesus called to be His disciples.
Prime Minister Steven Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty have to reduce taxes to be popular, but Herod, he just had to kill people. And so he figured “if killing James made me popular think how popular I would be if I killed Peter”, and so he had Peter arrested and thrown into jail. Now it was the Jewish celebration of Passover and he couldn’t very well execute Peter during the holidays so he decides that as soon as Passover is done, then he will separate Peter’s head from the rest of his body. And so here Peter is, in prison, waiting to stand trial with execution being a very, very real possibility. As a matter of fact it was virtually the only probably outcome of the trial.
It’s the night before the trial, the church has called a prayer meeting and they are up praying. I don’t know if they were praying for Peter’s release or if they were praying for Peter to have the courage and strength to face his imminent demise. We don’t know, but we do know that they were praying.
And Peter you’d think that he’d either be wide awake worrying or wide awake praying. But that was not the case, instead of being wide awake for anything Peter was sound asleep. Chained between two Roman soldiers Peter wasn’t just napping he was out like a light, dead to the world so to speak. And suddenly a great light filled the prison cell and standing there was an angel, and Peter didn’t wake up. The angel has to strike Peter on the side to wake him up. The thing that amazes me isn’t the great rescue with the angel, that’s a God thing, God can do those things. What amazes me is that Peter is asleep.
What happened? Helen Keller said: “I do not want the peace which passes understanding; I want the understanding which brings peace.” And it would appear that Peter had discovered the understanding which brings peace.
Let’s look at three reasons why Peter could have peace in this apparently hopeless situation:
First, Peter could have peace because he understood that God is there.
Have you seen the bumper sticker that says, “Know God, Know Peace. No God, No Peace"? It’s the truth, without an acknowledgement that there is a God, we will not have peace. That’s why it’s called the “peace of God” or “God’s peace” in the Bible. If there were no other certainties in Peter’s life there was the certainty that God was real.
If we are to find peace in our life the first step is acknowledging that there is a God. The Bible says in Psalm 14:1 “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” Abraham Lincoln echoed that when he said:
“I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up into the heaven and say there is no God.”
Secondly, Peter could have peace because he understood that God is aware.
Not only did Peter know that God existed, but God knew that Peter existed. And so we need to take our belief to the next level, not only believing in God but also believing that God knows what’s going on. Jesus made a remarkable statement concerning this remarkable attribute of God in Matthew 10:29 which says:
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.”
Finally, Peter could have peace because he understood that God cares.
Of the three this is probably the most important thing that Peter knew. It’s not enough that there is a God out there if He’s not aware of what’s going on in my life. And it’s not enough that there’s a God out there who’s aware of what’s happening in my life if He doesn’t care about what is happening in my life. Earlier we read Matthew 10:29,
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.”
“And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”When Peter closed his eyes that night in the prison cell between the two guards he knew that if nobody else in the universe cared about what happened to Peter that God did. That ultimately he mattered to God and that ultimately God was in control. Maybe it was this experience that caused Peter to write later on in the letter of 1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” Peter knew that there was absolutely nothing he could do to change his situation, so why worry about.
There was once a king who offered a prize to the artist who could paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all of the pictures. After much deliberation he was down to the last two. He had to choose between them.
One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for the peaceful mountains that towered around it. Overhead, fluffy white clouds floated in a blue sky. Everyone who saw this picture said that it was the perfect picture of peace.
The second picture had mountains too. These mountains were rugged and bare. Above was an angry gray sky from which rain fell. Lightening flashed. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not appear to be a peaceful place at all. But, when the king looked closely, he saw that behind the waterfall was a tiny bush growing in the rock. Inside the bush, a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest. She was the perfect picture of peace.
The king chose the second picture. "Because," he explained:
"Peace is not only in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace is in the midst of things as they are, when there is calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace."And that is the picture of the fruit peace in the life of the Christian. A Christian’s life isn’t all quiet and contemplation. We face turmoil and trouble just like anyone else. But the wonder of it all is that right in the midst of all that trouble life is crashing loudly all around us and yet we can live in perfect peace because the Holy Spirit has come in and a tree has grown and the fruit of the tree is PEACE.
The Holy Spirit working in our lives means that we can experience peace on a level that defies human understanding.
It means we can experience God’s peace in our church.
It means we can experience God’s peace in our homes.
It means we can experience God’s peace in our work place.
Ultimately, it means that we can experience God’s peace in our hearts. It doesn’t mean that any of these places is going to be perfect, because they’re not going to be. But it means in spite of the fact that those places aren’t perfect, we can have peace there because true peace doesn’t ultimately come from us - it comes from God.
May the fruit of peace be evident in our lives - no matter the circumstances!
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