Peace is a Mighty Weapon

When I look at the definition of peace, I find things like, "mental calm, serenity, freedom from or the cessation of war or violence." When it is used as an exclamation, it could be, "a greeting or an order to remain silent."

I can think of instances in my life where any one of these definitions could apply. Let's look at scripture and see how Jesus used it.

In John 14:26-27, Jesus says, "but when the father sends the advocate as my representative – that is, the Holy Spirit – he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid."

In Mark 4:39, we see that Jesus is on the boat sleeping and there is a fearsome storm threatening the lives of the disciples. Remember, these men were experienced fisherman, and they had been in many bad storms before. This storm frightened them to the point that they believed they would die, and Jesus would sleep through it all. Scripture says, "and he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea,"'Peace! Be still!'" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."

In the second scripture, Jesus is using two different forms of peace. He is, literally, ordering the storm to remain silent, as evidenced by other versions of the text. In the NIV, the word quiet is used in place of peace. In the NASB, the word hush is used, and in the NLT, silence is the word chosen for peace. We can see, from these translations, that the word used here best fits the definition of an order to remain silent. I'm going to take this a step further and say that I also believe Jesus was using this word under the umbrella of the definition, "the cessation of war or violence."

Jesus had authority over the wind and waves. This opponent that threatened the lives of the disciples on the boat was overcome with a verbal command. Scripture tells us we have the same power that Jesus had. In Ephesians 1:19-20, Paul is praying that the believers would understand the greatness of the power in them, that it was the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. In John 14:12, Jesus says that we will do greater works than he did after he goes to the Father.

God gave Jesus the empowerment (grace) to perform miracles, cast out demons, heal the sick, and to seek and save the lost. Through the Holy Spirit in us, we have the power to do those things and even greater.

I say all of this to support the notion that we have the authority to command this same peace over every act of war the enemy is waging on us at any given moment in our lives. We have the authority and the power within us to simply order peace over the violence.

We also have the ability to be carriers of peace. The recipe for this is found in Philippians 4:6-9 NLT where it says, "don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he is done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of his. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me – everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you."

It's all about our focus. We need to know our inheritance. We need to understand the authority given to us when we allow the Holy Spirit to take up residence in our hearts. We need to know who we are and who we belong to. We need to fix our eyes on the truth of our identity in Christ, and then, we will not be shaken.

There's a prayer that Paul prayed that I am going to put before myself this week, and I encourage you to do the same. It is a prayer that reveals one of the keys to transformational knowledge of Christ.

In Ephesians 3:16-19 Paul is praying over the believers again, and he says these words, "I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God."

Peace is a mighty weapon, so be blessed in fullness of peace!!

♥Pam♥