PEACE OF GOD
Pr. James Victor Lubwama
Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV)
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
In the world today, there are certain things that people consider and base on as elements of peace. As such their peace is conditioned on having certain things in life like money, children, cars, houses etc. These things are all important but they are not the epitome of life and peace. Having a relationship with God is better than having material things.
The peace that God gives supersedes all these material things and human understanding - its unconditional. You can be happy yet you don't have money or car; you can be content, happy and at peace with the little you have. The peace that matters, the peace that lasts and has stood the test of time, is the peace that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, whom the prophet Isaiah describes as the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)
God considers peace so important that He gave it as a title to His Son, Jesus, calling Him the Prince of Peace. The Apostle Paul list peace as one of the fruits of the Spirit that is available to believers in Jesus Christ, preceded only by love and joy in Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT);
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things”
Many people think peace is an absence of struggle and problems, and so try as much as possible to avoid troublesome issues, but peace is never about running away from a problem, ignoring an issue, or pretending that the problem doesn’t exist. Unfortunately, this is at the heart of many relational problems in marriages, business and life; but, avoiding a problem doesn’t produce peace.
The peace that lasts is the peace that God gives, because God always is the same and never changes, and having peace that lasts is a gift given by God.
Jesus confirms that true peace can only be attained through Him. Knowing the trials and tribulations awaiting the disciples (John 16:33), Jesus wanted them to know that they could achieve the peace they desired, not from the situations, but because He overcame. The peace Jesus references is completely independent of the situation or circumstance. Amidst a troubled world, a Christian can have peace, because Jesus overcame the world. John 14:27 (NKJV)
“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.”
If Jesus Christ isn’t our Savior and Lord, then we’ll never know and experience true and lasting peace. There is no real peace outside a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Rom 5:1 (NKJV) says;
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”
May that peace of God that surpasses human understanding be your portion always!

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