A Weapon of Choice: Peace

When Jesus confronted the enemy, He did not do so with His emotions or in fear. Knowing that the enemy was a liar, He simply refused to be influenced by any voice other than God's. His peace overwhelmed the enemy; His authority then shattered the lie, which sent enemies fleeing.

Jesus practised peace. Every situation in His life is an object lesson on how He lived and manifested peace. Let’s look into Jesus in the midst of a storm. We know that Jesus must have been very tired. And He was so tired that He slept through the storm. He slept, not because of His fatigue but because He was at total peace. Mark 4:37-40 “And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’ Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. But He said to them, ‘Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?’” 

Jesus deals with their focus, not their situation. The disciples saw the waves and the wind and the water filling the boat (that was the real situation) and concluded that they were perishing (an unproven conclusion). Jesus was no doubt aware of the storm, but because He had a different conclusion based in peace, He slept on. He remains calm when they wake Him and teaches through the very thing that caused so much fear and unbelief in his disciples, a storm. He speaks these very specific words: “Peace, be still". 

Jesus’ peace overwhelmed the waves and the wind when He then spoke in authority, nature obeyed. Jesus never denied the reality of the wind, the waves or the water in the boat. He trusted God, knew God was with Him and rested on the platform of that knowledge, then used His authority. 

David understood the weapon of peace. Psalm 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for You are with me.” A valley as dark as death - the lowest, darkest, most threatening place in one’s life. David understood there is a place of walking with God where we simply fear no evil. David faced a lion, a bear, and a giant. In this Psalm, he stood in the "shadow of death" itself, yet he "feared no evil.” David's trust was in God. He said, "...for You are with me." 

God is with us!

The first step toward spiritual authority over adversity is having peace despite your circumstances. 

Romans 16:20 “And the God of peace will crush the enemy under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” 

Peace as a Weapon. 

In the battles of life, your peace is actually a weapon. Living creates many situations that rob you of your peace. Cash flow concerns, deadlines, relationships, and all those things that form part of your daily living create stress in you. We don't fear because God is with us. Born of our relationship with God, confidence in the God of peace releases the power of peace. 

Our trust in the God of peace releases the power of peace and declares that we do not accept the lies of the enemy or anything contrary to that peace. Our ultimate reality – God, ever constant, ever present. It is as you reach this point that you can declare in authority: “Peace, be still!’ You have this peace, God gave it to you, expecting you to use it. Matthew 10:1310:13. 

2nd Peter 1:2 Because God is with you and you really know God, every adversity you face will unfold in victory as you maintain your faith in God! By simply refusing to be influenced by any voice other than God's, the peace of God in you will overwhelm the enemy and all and any circumstance in life and all the God-given authority working through you will shatter the enemy’s lies or life’s adverse circumstances. And when you have to face a circumstance that will not change, you face it just like Jesus did in facing the cross. You go through it in peace, in expectation of what will be achieved through it. 

In the midst of any circumstance in life, we hold onto the peace of God by simply remembering Isaiah 53:5b “…The punishment for our peace was upon Him.” In other words, Jesus suffered for us so we could have peace. It’s a done deal given by Jesus.  

Here are His words to us to assure us it is a done deal: John 14:27 “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.” Jesus is motivating us to live in peace. 

The battle you are in will soon become a meal for you, an experience that will nourish and build you up spiritually. spiritually.  

Looking again at Psalm 23:5, David says, "You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies." So while your enemies look on, you sit down to a banquet prepared by God Himself! This is the extraordinary truth that results from not being influenced by emotions or fear in the midst of life’s circumstances.

Grounded in Peace. Only God's peace will quell your emotive reactions in battle. The source of God's peace is God Himself. If fear has been knocking at your door, begin to face that fear with God's peace. It’s God's secret weapon to destroy fear. 

Here's a great exercise to keep you grounded in the peace of God - IDDA:

I -- Identify the issue or circumstance.  What is real in this situation? Make sure you are not responding from your past experiences.

D — Detach yourself from jumping to a conclusion that is fear- or circumstance-based.

D -- Decide what you need to do in this situation or circumstance.

A -- Act in accordance with this and not based on previous actions.

We can calmly face every situation and circumstance because “... He is our peace”. Ephesians 2:14. 

This article showed the power of peace and how we can use it in our lives. God gave great gifts: the Gifts of the Spirit to empower and the Fruit of the Spirit to heal our broken thinking and empower our living so we can act like God and operate in the power of the Gifts as God does. Learn more about operating in peace in 'The Fruit of the Spirit: the way to whole and happy living'. Click below to delve deeper and subscribe for more great content.

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