Peace Works through Love:
All who follow after God carry the way of peace within them; God’s love, His very light. Yet, further still, we all carry authority in our voices—in every word we speak. Most of us realize that words have power, but so often we forget that OUR words have power. That we are meant to use them for the glory of God; to understand that with power comes the responsibility to choose our words wisely. To be His peacemakers on earth…
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”—Matthew 5:9
God made us in His image and called us His children. Yet, how did He make us, the world, and all that exists?
He spoke.
As simple as that. A word from our Father and everything changes.
His tool is His voice, for He says a thing, and it is done…
“Then God said… and it was so.”
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…’ So God created man in His own image…” —Genesis 1:11, 26-27
Because God made us in His image, given us the blessing of ‘sonship,’ and even set the Holy Spirit within us, our words have immense power. The power to bless or curse in the spirit realm. Yet, beyond this we receive that which we sow.
“… For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”—Luke 6:38
Yes, Jesus, who did everything He saw His Father doing, cursed the fig tree and spoke correction to those misusing the House of God. Jesus obviously was not cursed for these acts—He, after all, had a legal right and the Father’s prompting—but He knew that times for cursing are rare and can never be based on mere emotion. It has to be based in the Spirit; both the prompting and the cursing, for to curse the flesh of those made in the image of God is dangerous.
“With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?”—James 3:9-11
“For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”—Galatians 6:8
We are daily meant to fashion ourselves in the image of God, and the image of God is love. For, as 1 John 4:8 says, “…God is love.”
His love is shown over and over in the Word, from the very creation of the world in Genesis, to our restoration through Jesus. We are meant to live in that love. To sow blessings so that the windows of Heaven might be opened for all… so that we might prepare one another for eternity with our Father.
A Peace Found in Love:
Moses was told by God to instruct Aaron and his sons to give a priestly blessing to the children of Israel: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”(see Numbers 6:24-26).
Aaron was prompted to speak the truth of God—prophesy—by speaking God’s Name and His peace to the children of Israel. Because of this blessing, the Name of God and His peace was upon them, and they would be blessed by Him.
“…I will bless them.”—Numbers 6:27 (emphasis added)
That peace was and is still alive in God’s chosen people, Israel. Not only by the decree spoken over them at the Lord’s behest, but also by the covenants God made with them and keeps to this day.
Yet, it would take the greatest display of love ever seen before we too might know that peace… when we would become the redeemed of the Lord.
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”—John 16:33
It was a peace of great price, not for us, but for our Messiah—Jesus—who died on the cross, faced death and the grave, redeeming us and leaving us His perfect peace and the fullness of His love. It may have been free for us, but when we know the price Jesus paid for that peace, how can we take it for granted? How can we fail to focus on our Father and the peace He allowed His son to leave?
It is of the highest honor to be given Godly peace…
“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. You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.”—John 14:27-28
By keeping our focus on God, trusting in Him, we find perfect peace in every situation. Every moment.
We are not required to beg Him to fix things for us. We do not have to fall into the trap of worry and doubt. We can have peace in God and with Him, no matter the storm.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”—Philippians 4:6-7
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”—Matthew 7:11
Takeaway:
God’s glory lives in us. As such, the glory of the Lord can be made manifest through us… and what is more, it can glorify Him. That glory is like a cloak. A cloak of His presence, in which we find Him, His rest, and His peace. His perfect peace!
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace…”—Ephesians 2:13-14
Still, living in God’s peace is a choice. Every time we look at our circumstances and worry; every time we look at ourselves and think He cannot use us; we are choosing to ignore the peace of God for the indulgence of listening to the enemy’s lies—for a short-term view of events instead of the eternal view of God.
To quote Pastor Tim Alsbaugh, “You cannot sink as long as you are with the Lord.”
Jesus overcame the grave! It is finished. We have eternal life in Him, and the fear of death should not exist, because this—our lives on earth, the trials we face—is but a fleeting moment compared to our never ending lives with Him.
He has given us blessing upon blessing, and the root of all the blessings—from His mercy to His peace—rests in His being love. If we live our lives focused on that love—the manifestation of it even in the smallest grain of sand, the rising of the sun, in God-given joy—we can face any storm. We can live in a peace so sure that all we know is the reality of who God is and what awaits us at the end of our journey.
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”—Philippians 4:8-9
Let us embody the peace of God, accepting His love, looking for the good, and giving of the fullness that He has bestowed upon us—whether by words of blessing or acts of blessing. Let us praise our Father by following in His footsteps and listening to the sound of His voice over the waves.
“But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.’
“And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’
“So He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.”—Matthew 14:27-29