The Gift of Peace by Rosemary Legrand

Are you struggling to maintain Peace?

 THE PEACE OF GOD IS A GIFT.

With all the turmoil we are encountering right now, everything may seem uncertain so it’s easy to slip into the spirit of fear, anxiety, and depression. It’s like a bad-fitting shoe that rubs a painful blister on our heel. We find it difficult to maintain the peace that we once had, the peace that the Scripture speaks about in Philippians.

“Do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 6–7).

I love that passage.

The word for “peace” in Hebrew is “Shalom.” The connotation is positive. When someone says, “Shalom,” or, “Peace unto you,” it doesn’t mean, “I hope you don’t get into any trouble.” It means, “I hope you have all the highest good coming your way.”

Someone wrote. “God is like Coke. He’s the real thing.”

“God is like General Electric. He lights your path.”

“God is like Hallmark Cards. He cares enough to give His best.”

“God is like VO5 Hair Spray. He holds through all kinds of weather.”

In spite of all of the clichés, He is a God like no other, it is my desire that we get to know Him better and understand the peace that only He provides. I want to us to learn more about who He is, so we can obtain a better understanding of what He can be to us as His children in the midst of this crisis. He is the Prince of Peace. 

Did you notice that the apostle Paul said, “The Peace of God“— not our peace, Why? Because our peace fluctuates. It is only the Peace of God that will sustain us.

I was an example of someone lacking peace. Many years ago, I suffered from a nervous breakdown, and now I am totally healed thanks to the mercy of God. So I can differentiate between when I am walking in the peace that fluctuates, and when I am walking in the Peace of God. I can wholeheartedly tell you I prefer the peace of God.  That’s why I have a personal saying that I now use daily: “I refuse to worry.”

When we speak about peace, we are talking about a subject that is largely unknown in the world. All we have to do is turn on the evening news to discover that peace is a stranger in many parts of the world. However, it doesn’t have to be that way for us. We can receive the “Peace of God,” a fruit of the Holy Spirit that is ours if we ask for it. No matter what is going on in our lives we can be confident that God is the same yesterday, today and forever and is always with us, He promises that he cannot and will not fail us. He is the source of our peace. It’s a gift from our heavenly Father.

Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”

Trust Him in the midst of this Pandemic.

Shalom!

May God richly bless you.

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Don’t miss our next POP Chat, this Wednesday, July 29th on ZOOM at 6:30 p.m.. Dr. Lynnette Simm will be teaching about “How to Find Your Peace” and Renee Rollins will lead our worship for this beautiful one-hour of fellowship. Here’s the link to sign up: https://share.hsforms.com/15bHBupdrTBugXxD9Y8Q_MQ3jo4z