The one thing that all of us desire to have every day is peace. With so much going on: jobs, kids, schedules, illnesses, cleaning, meals, etc, it is difficult to experience peace. Then there’s the election with the political parties and that ugly nonsense, the fires and hurricanes, the violence and looting, and Covid, which all add to the fact that having peace in our day is extremely hard to find.

The dictionary defines it as: 1. freedom from disturbance; tranquility. 2. a state or period in which there is no war or a war has ended. 3. an undisturbed state of mind; absence of mental conflict; serenity. 4. Freedom from public disturbance or disorder; public security; law and order.

All of these are true and good, and oh, how great life would be if that was our day to day! But this is not the type of peace I am referring to.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, .. And he will be called  Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6

Yesterday I was listening to a song, and it spoke of how Jesus is our peace with God. That thought was like turning on a lightswitch! I had never considered it that way before. His purpose was ultimately to be the necessary fulfillment of Scriptures and become God’s perfect sacrificial lamb, the One who redeems us because of his shed blood. Before, the only way of peace with God was to go through the act of an unblemished animal sacrifice by the priest. This was to atone for our sins, which separates unholy man from the holy Creator.

Look at it this way: God looks at true Christians – those that have accepted the Lord as their Savior – through Jesus. The Father sees his Son first, as Jesus is our Mediator, and it stifles His righteous anger, giving us peace with God.

Jesus’ act of love from above gives us the way to have peace with God. Without his sacrifice, we would still be at enmity with the Father. There would still be a separation between man and God. Being righteous, God cannot allow the sinful nature of man to reside with Him. He must judge us accordingly. Thus, the most selfless response from our Heavenly Father was to give us a way to be made righteous as He is, through Jesus’ shed blood. This is how we have peace with God.

“He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And He will be our peace…”
Micah 5:5

What did Jesus say to the disciples when He first visited them after he rose from the dead? “Peace be with you”. He was with them. He also wanted them to sense peace rather than fear as He had been dead, but was now alive. The angels said the same thing to the shepherds in the field when Jesus was born – “Peace be with you”. Yes, HE had arrived, after so many generations, centuries, and prophecies about him.

I don’t know about you, but when I dwell on what Jesus’ life was like, and how he died but rose again, it humbles me to the core. It breaks me right down to tears of such gratitude that my Lord would care that much about me having peace with God! This is not something I take lightly, and I bet you don’t either.

Be reminded of the fact that YOU, as His redeemed child, already have absolute peace with God! Let that thought flood your soul so deeply that the peace of God overtakes you. He loves you that much. As a result, you will have the other forms of peace that we each so earnestly desire for the rest of the day. It covers completely!

“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
Isaiah 48:22

Not everyone knows this eternal peace we speak of. If anyone denies Jesus, then they don’t have it. Our assignment from the Lord himself is to take the Gospel of Peace to the world! Our heart’s desire and earnest prayers should be for those that do not have peace with God: to be drawn to our Savior, to accept his free sacrificial gift of life, and to experience that oneness and unity with Him.

Jesus, thank you for your selfless act of sacrifice that gives us peace with the Father. Thank you for being our Mediator and standing in that gap of righteous judgment! Help me today to see other’s needs of peace in their lives, and encourage them in knowing how to have this eternal peace that lasts. May your peace spill over in every area of my life. I give you honor and praise today in how I live for you.
In Jesus’ holy name, AMEN.

“The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:25-26

Food for thought: “When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.” —Jimi Hendrix

Fun facts: The Nobel Peace Prize is one of six awards in the memory of Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. Every year the organization gives out six awards for the people “who best benefit mankind through their actions” in one of the six subjects; peace, literature, physics, chemistry, economics, and medicine. The Peace Prize is given out in Norway, but the other are prizes given out in Sweden. This is because Norway and Sweden were one country when the prizes were started.

Photo by: Kari Wiseman – Calm Waters reflect the Sun