"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).
Since the time when there were just two brothers on the entire planet they had trouble getting along. One of them basically said, “This world is not big enough for the both of us!” And still there has been conflict between men. One of the primary reasons why the Lord came was to bring peace to the earth, which is one of the primary reasons His people are here, as we read in Luke 1:68-79, one of the most comprehensive statements in Scripture of the purpose of the Messiah:
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant,—
as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old,
salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show mercy toward our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant,
the oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
"And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;
to give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high shall visit us,
to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. "
The conclusion of all that He came to do was “to guide our feet into the way of peace.” For this reason we should examine our walk to see if this has in fact been something we have been growing in and is the fruit that we are leaving behind. Ephesians 2:17 states: “And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near.” We also see this in the very first heavenly proclamation of His birth, recorded in Luke 2:13-14:
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
Since this is so basic to the reason why the Lord came to the earth, it should be one of the primary characteristics of those who have partaken of His redemption. He is even called the "Prince of Peace," and so those over whom He truly reigns will be examples of this peace.
However, the Lord’s peace is not like the world’s peace. The world’s peace is based on compromise and human alliances which have never been found strong enough to last. His peace is based on His authority to rule and to bring mankind and the rest of creation into harmony through Himself. There is no lasting peace outside of Him, and at the conclusion of this age it will be demonstrated for all of creation for all of eternity that He alone is the Answer to our problems. True peace can only be found by coming back into harmony with God and His will.
In the rising conflict and confusion, His peace will be demonstrated by His people, and it will stand in increasing contrast to the conflicts and confusion. By His grace and mercy, in the midst of all that is coming, He will make His peace available to all who will come to Him. If we are wise, we will come to Him now. If we claim to know Him but do not have His peace, then we do not know Him as we should. Now is the time to find Him and His peace. His peace is stronger than any human problem and any chaos.
As we have covered, if we are abiding in the Lord, we will also be manifesting His character, which is the fruit of the Spirit. Therefore, every Christian should have as a primary vision for their life to grow in the fruit of the Spirit. Many do have a devotion to growing in love, which is called the greatest of these (see I Corinthians 13:13) and certainly this is a right thing to do. We should also have as a primary vision to grow in the peace of God.
Peace is actually the linchpin fruit of the Spirit that holds all of the others together. If you lose your peace, you are going to also quickly lose your patience, gentleness, self-control and so on. That is why most of the devil’s attacks against us are directed at stealing our peace first. If he can get us anxious and fretting, he will at the very least be able to push us far from the will of God in our life.
Many Christians allow their worries to dictate the course of their lives even more than the Spirit of God. Worry or anxiety is not a fruit of the Spirit, and the Lord will never lead us with these. Dissatisfaction and discontent are not the fruit of the Spirit, and if we allow them to dictate what we do, they, too, will actually drive us far from the will of God in our life. If we are going to follow the Spirit, we will abide in the fruit of the Spirit, which are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
The title “Lord of hosts,” which means “Lord of armies,” is used to describe the Lord over ten times more than all of the other titles used for the Lord. He is a martial God. To really understand Him, we must understand His military characteristics. His people are likewise called to be His army as well as His bride. However, it is not “the Lord of hosts” who it says will crush Satan under our feet, but rather “the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20). It is by abiding in the peace of God that the devil’s inroads into our life, “the gates of hell” are shut, and he is utterly crushed.
As the world grows in fear, those who know God will be growing in peace. We will not understand the times or the course we should take without abiding in His peace, because without His peace we are not abiding in His Spirit who alone can lead us into the truth. This is why we must learn now to obey the great apostolic exhortation Philippians 4:4-7:
Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.
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 comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
As we see here it is “the peace of God” that guards our hearts and minds and keeps them in Christ Jesus. We must learn to quickly recognize anything that is attacking our peace and trying to steal it. We should resolve that every time the devil tries to steal our peace, we are going to grow in peace because it will be a great opportunity to do that. The very thing that would steal our peace if we let it, will strengthen our peace if we resist it.
The peace of God is rooted in trusting in the Lord. We have peace because we know who He is, the King of kings, who is over all rule and authority and dominion. We trust His authority and know that nothing can touch us unless He allows it, and we trust Him to know that anything which He allows is for our good. As He has promised in His Word that is sure in Romans 8:28:
It is for this purpose that we can, as the exhortation above encourages us, “Rejoice in the Lord always” and “be anxious for nothing.” We can have joy in everything, even our trials, because we know that He is causing everything to work for our good. Those who trust will not be anxious. Those who trust will let their forbearing spirit or patience be known to all because they will stand out in stark contrast to the fears and worries that are coming upon those who do not have this faith.