Real Peace for Real-Life Trials

For most people, peace is a time without war, or a time without conflict, or as simple as a time without noise. Take note that it’s always the absence of something. In the Kingdom of God, peace is the presence of someone. Peace is a person. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. When the prevailing influence on our hearts and minds is the presence of Jesus, we have peace that conquers. The wonderful reality of this kind of peace is that it is not defined or controlled by its surroundings. This kind of peace changes its surroundings. Jesus slept in a storm and then released peace over that storm, and the storm stopped (see Mark 4:35-41). What was in Him influenced what happened around Him.

When the prevailing influence on our hearts and minds is the presence of Jesus, we have peace that conquers.

Felt Realities

Most every believer lives with the knowledge that the Holy Spirit lives in him or her and that He will never leave. That knowledge is a vital biblical truth. But truth is to be known by experience. Religion idolizes concepts but avoids personal experience. Knowing He is my provider is reassuring. But it does me little good if I don’t seek Him for provision. The concept of salvation does me no good unless I’m saved. Being born again is the experience we have after receiving the message of salvation. And so, the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit must become a felt reality.

Many will think I mean we are to live by our emotions, or that our emotions define what is true. That would certainly lead to another set of problems. While that is true, a felt reality will usually affect my emotions. It had better be real enough to affect part of my life. Everything about us, from our minds to our emotions to our physical bodies, is designed to recognize and dwell in the manifest presence of God. Learning how to live in that reality is called maturity (see Heb. 5:12-14).

The idea of the Holy Spirit abiding with us always must affect how we do life.

We must put a demand on our faith and stop allowing complacency to define our life in Christ. The idea of the Holy Spirit abiding with us always must affect how we do life. And that life can be lived with a consciousness of Him that He affects faith, attitudes, conduct, and so much more. He is the pleasure of life.

We often speak of using faith for a miracle, which is right and good. But what if we were to also use our faith to discover God with us?

Protecting Peace

Peace is the atmosphere of Heaven. I like to call peace the oxygen of Heaven. And that peace is with me constantly. But if I violate that peace through fear, anger, or other such contradictions to His nature, it is no longer a felt reality. I’m not saying the Holy Spirit left me. I’m just saying that peace no longer benefits me. It’s no longer something that I draw from and can steward well. Perhaps I could put it this way: Because He will never leave me, peace is in my account, but it’s not in my possession. I need to make a withdrawal.

One of the most important principles I live by is to protect my peace at all costs. That means when I find that I’m without it, I have to find out where I left it. It’s that simple. When I feel anxious or frustrated, I try to figure out how long I have allowed inferior realities to influence my thoughts, attitudes, and behavior. If, for example, I recognize I’ve been anxious for about three hours, then I’ll look to what triggered it. Perhaps it was a phone call. This doesn’t mean the phone call was wrong. But my reaction may have been. As a result, I gave way to fear by what I thought about. All of our responses either come from love or fear. So I look back to the phone call and begin to see more clearly how I gave fear a place in my heart and mind. Perhaps I started to think of all the wrong that could happen. Remember, fear thinks apart from promise. It could have been a call about anything—a personal challenge, or something happening in the church, or even a report about a national or international crisis. The issue is, I exchanged peace for fear. And it was a bad deal. I traded something eternal for something that works its way into our lives only to steal, kill, and destroy.

One of the most important principles I live by is to protect my peace at all costs. That means when I find that I’m without it, I have to find out where I left it. It’s that simple.

When I see what has happened, I repent. I make full confession to the Lord. If it’s an ongoing issue, my repentance must be more deeply expressed. Honestly, sometimes seeing the problem is all it takes. I follow that with a simple prayer of confession:

Jesus, forgive me. I allowed fear to challenge my knowledge of Your goodness. Thank You for Your forgiveness as I know You will be my strength when the next problem appears. I give You thanks and praise, for You’re always good.

It’s so beautiful, as peace is now restored. I can’t create it. It’s already my possession. I just need to get it out of my account and back into my possession. But other times I can tell the problem is much more deeply rooted in me. In a moment of God’s dealings, we see that perhaps there’s a root of wrong thinking that has influenced our lives for years. In that case, it’s time to get alone with the Lord so that I am certain that my repentance is as deep as my sin. I look to the Scriptures to find what He says about me, my problem, and what His answer is for what has caused me to stumble. It’s important that I find where I was ignorant of truth, or perhaps mishandled truth through my unbelief. Regardless of how long that takes, whether it’s ten minutes or an hour, it’s worth it to not have to carry the burden of deception in thought around any longer. Wrong thinking doesn’t coexist with peace. Repentance – changing the way we think – restores our peace.

Protected by Peace

Living in peace is a relational journey with the Holy Spirit. That journey is at its best when we have an absolute trust in God, demonstrated through abiding in Christ. When I embrace fear, I am doubting God. Our entire life on this planet is about learning to trust the One who is perfectly faithful and trustworthy. Our reasoning, apart from divine influence, always wars against this One who is worthy of our trust. And that is the battle. It’s a battle in the mind, to spoil and infect our hearts. Winning this battle affects every area of life.

The apostle Paul faced some of the most extreme experiences that one could face. And it was from prison he wrote some of the most helpful insights for our lives.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! …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, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:4-7).

Rejoicing, prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving all help to settle the battle for our minds. In the verse that follows (Phil. 4:8) Paul gives us insight on what to fill our minds with. The implication is that if it is filled with the things of God, there will be no room for thoughts that violate our view of His nature. And whenever we discover His nature, we also discover our new nature in Christ. We always become like the One we trust.

I encourage people to pray until the fear and anxiety are gone. For me this process always involves worship and feeding my heart on the promises of God.

It is important to pray, bringing our needs, fears, and challenges to God. He welcomes us in any state we are in. But the prayers of authority are never prayed in fear. Fear-based prayers are the prayers of servants, not sons and daughters. Again, He welcomes me in whatever condition I am in. In His mercy, He ministers to us and heals us. But He has called us into a lifestyle that is much higher than that. I encourage people to pray until the fear and anxiety are gone. For me this process always involves worship and feeding my heart on the promises of God. As we return to a place of faith, we become useful co-laborers in making the decrees necessary to bring about God’s will in a given situation. Giving thanks is what helps to keep us in tune with our Father who never lies and is always worthy of our trust. Thankfulness flows effortlessly from the one who has experienced this internal victory.

The part of the passage I want to look at again is, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds” (Phil. 4:7). It’s interesting that if I protect my peace, His peace will protect me. Perhaps it sounds like a contradiction. But it isn’t. If I protect my heart from all the things that violate my trust in Him, He will rise up to protect me from the unseen fiery darts headed in my direction. His peace protects us where we lack understanding. It’s beautiful to see that peace goes beyond comprehension, as real faith is always superior to natural reasoning. I like to put it this way: If I give up my right to understand, He will give me the peace that passes understanding.

Lifestyle Peace

If I’m going to have a lifestyle of peace, I have to make decisions about my approach to life. Many people live from the stresses of life, as that motivates them to be focused and get things accomplished. They are intentional in their use of negative influence. That means they live in reaction to problems instead of in response to the purposes of God. I’m not saying it doesn’t work. Stress can move people into action to get things done. But peace is too important for me to give that exterior motivator a place in my heart. I may gain productivity, but what I lose is of utmost importance to me—the felt reality of His presence. I have chosen to live in response to the Father, and not in reaction to darkness. I value felt presence more than I value accomplishing what seems to impress others the most. The wonderful reality is that living from presence enables us to accomplish that which will last.

Stress can move people into action to get things done. But peace is too important for me to give that exterior motivator a place in my heart. I may gain productivity, but what I lose is of utmost importance to me—the felt reality of His presence.

Protecting my peace must get practical. For example, I won’t read any challenging emails or engage in difficult conversations late at night, if it’s at all possible to avoid. I don’t want those things to become the meditation of my heart as I go to sleep. Most people would have better days if they had better nights. As a pastor, I sometimes find this unavoidable. Crisis happens. When it does, we all have to respond to these things with a heart of a servant and a heart full of faith. But to constantly entertain ideas, problems, and conflicts late at night, when they could be handled better the next day, is to tempt God. I owe Him a clean heart of affection as I go to sleep. This is a heart that is not cluttered with the debris of unsettled things. Our nights are the time when the Holy Spirit ministers to us in ways that are far beyond what we can handle during the day. It’s important to enter the night of rest in a way that positions us to receive from God. Fear often repels His work.

Our nights are the time when the Holy Spirit ministers to us in ways that are far beyond what we can handle during the day.

For me a clean conscience is more than being free from the awareness of sin in my life. It is being free from the weightiness of life that entangles my heart, prohibiting me from the life of faith for which I was designed. A clean conscience is a heart at rest.

For those times when conflict is unavoidable, I have had to learn how to pray into a place where fear doesn’t dictate what and whom I trust. What I mean by that is, I pray until I have effectively placed my burden into His care. I know when I have succeeded, as I’m no longer anxious. That is the posture of rest. And thankfulness flows easily from that place.

Rest is a place where we refuse to strive. Faith doesn’t come from striving. It comes from surrender. And that is the place of great peace.

A heart at rest is a heart of faith. I’m not just talking about sleep, as exhausted people can sleep even though they’re not in a place of trusting God. Rest is a place where we refuse to strive. Faith doesn’t come from striving. It comes from surrender. And that is the place of great peace.

Relationships of Peace

I know people who will over-emphasize a problem, hoping to get me to become anxious with them. Honestly. That’s how they seem to know that I see the problem is as critical as they view it to be. The logic behind this is that anxiousness and fear show we’re serious about the problem and completely awake to the need of the moment. If I’m anxious and fretting, then they know I am with them. One of the important Kingdom truths is that perfect love drives out fear. Showing compassion to the one in crises is the answer. Feel their pain, and learn to mourn with those who mourn. And don’t take their problem lightly. Pray with them when the time is right. Comfort them. Encourage them. Talk only when necessary. But don’t sacrifice your peace to prove you’re with them. Faith rests. It is also true that faith fights. But it fights from the position of rest/confidence in God. In this setting, complacency becomes counterfeit peace. Faith is. And I’m no good to my friend if I’m as fearful as they are. My prayers will then become begging sessions, not prayers of authority that God has designed us for.

One of the important Kingdom truths is that perfect love drives out fear.

When peace is the agreed upon value of a community of believers who are contending for “on earth as it is in heaven,” they will not use fear to control or influence others. This is so deeply rooted in our culture that people often seem to be unaware of using this tool to manipulate others to their need or point of view. Politicians do this a lot. Most of our media outlets live off of the money produced by fear. Preachers often do the same, as do parents. Heaven’s culture doesn’t allow us to use instruments of fear, as fear is inferior to and undermines real faith.

Problems exist. Seeing them from God’s perspective is the safest way to survive, thrive, and overcome in the days we live in.

Denial, Counterfeit Faith

There are many who are unable to discuss a problem because for them it is a sign of unbelief. Real faith can stand up to any challenge and any subject. But it must be anchored in the One who is faithful.

Faith doesn’t deny a problem’s existence. It denies it a place of influence. Honest conversation, expressing needs, fears, and the like, must be welcome in the family of God. We are growing into a mature representation of Jesus, and process must be allowed and celebrated. This is especially true for young believers. Mocking someone for weak faith never creates great faith. But a faith culture must understand that when people are overcome by their challenges in life, we must not mirror their fear to prove we’re with them. To be a part of the answer, be the loving support that functions out of peace.

Faith doesn’t deny a problem’s existence. It denies it a place of influence.

Jesus often spoke to people about their unbelief. Once again, He never withheld a miracle because of weak faith or unbelief. If they had enough faith to come to Him, He responded to their need as the Father’s redemptive solution. It seems to me He addressed their unbelief so that after the miracle came, they could step into greater faith.

The issue of faith was of much more importance to Jesus than to most of us. Jesus was so concerned about this issue that He asked if He would find any on the earth when He returned.

When We Don’t Understand

The bottom line is that mystery is a huge part of a disciple’s life. That’s why we’re given promises about all things working for good. And He will complete what He started. Faith works in tandem with peace. Faith satisfies the appetite of the questioning heart when understanding is missing. It is substance.

One of the things that makes room for the spirit of revelation to come is that we are willing to embrace mystery. What you don’t understand is as important as what you do understand. If a person who has been given tremendous revelation and an equally weighty mystery can walk in the call of God by revelation and not be pulled off by the mystery (the inability to answer important questions), that person will discover the richness of the call of God.

Bill Johnson