Peace: Part II

To start with, if you missed the first installment, please click on the following link to join us in our study on peace. We wouldn’t want anyone to feel left behind.

 

Peace Part I:  http://ambrewster.wordpress.com/2007/12/05/peace-on-earth-introduction/

 

 

Peace Part II:

 

As we delve back into our study in Philippians 4:4-9, we need to determine what “peace” actually is. Since we’re commanded to have peace (Galatians 5:22) it would behoove us to know what we have to do or be. How many Christians commit the sin of lasciviousness because they never bothered to figure out what it was? Let us not make that same mistake here.

 

1. Peace (as used in Philippians 4) does not mean a lack of war. If you look up “peace” in The American Heritage College Dictionary the first four definitions deal with the dichotomy of war and peace. For example, the first definition says that peace is “the absence of war or other hostilities.” The fourth definition maintains that peace is “public security and order.” It’s true that, more often than not, the Bible uses “peace” to refer to a lack of war, but in Galatians 5:22, Philippians 4:4-9, and Isaiah 26:3 a “lack of war” is not the appropriate definition. A person could posses this peace, even in the middle of a war. 

 

2. Peace is not a feeling. The belief that peace is an emotion lies at the root of many misunderstandings concerning God’s will for our lives. Today’s society is emotion soaked. Disney tells us to “follow our hearts,” psychologists speak of emotional disorders, and the media encourages us to amass stock in the “feelings-market” lest we bruise our self-esteem. Though emotions are wonderful gifts of God, we as Christians must realize that they are neither formative nor trustworthy.

 

I truly wish I could take a moment to flesh-out the “doctrine of Christian emotions;” but it would require a thorough going-over that we don’t have time for now. Still, there are cogent points to be made concerning peace and feelings. 1. Emotions are untrustworthy. In Jeremiah 17:9 we are told “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” How many times do our feelings rise and fall like an out-of-control roller coaster? I don’t know about you, but occasionally I don’t feel like a Christian. What if my reality was tied to my capricious feelings? That’s a horrific thought. 2. Emotions can’t be turned on and off. I can’t tell you to “have” loving feelings for an individual. It’s difficult to “shut off” anger. How many of us can genuinely laugh with no provocation? Emotions grow from the soil of our minds. What we believe and think puppet the stringed-joints of feelings.

 

Since we’re using analogies, I happen to like this one . . . Feelings are like a fuel guage. When the gas in your car is gone your car stops running. The fuel gauge is not the reason your car doesn’t run, it’s just there to warn you that there’s a problem. Our emotions were designed to confirm, and sometimes warn us about what is happening in our spirit, but they are in no way seminal to the issue.

 

So to sum it all up, God is not commanding us to possess a “peaceful feeling.” In times of distress it might be nearly impossible to work up positive emotions. Sure, there are many wonderful feelings that accompany biblical peace, but I don’t always have to “feel peaceful” to have peace. 

 

3. Peace is not a divine stamp of approval. This point ties in with the latter. Often times in decision making we search for some ethereal feeling of peace from God to validate our choices. The problem with this kind of thinking is two-fold. First, God does not give us extra-biblical revelation. The Bible is complete. The Cannon is closed. God is not in the habit of sending “angelic Post-It-Notes” with special messages designed exclusively for me. If I want to know what God says all I have to do is turn to His Word. I cannot depend on how I feel to discern God’s will. Though good feelings often accompany right choices, how many times do those same “good feelings” partner with awful choices? I cannot innumerate the number of decisions I’ve made that were hurtful to my relationship with God, and all the while I felt good about my course of action. Secondly, consider Moses. Moses stood before a burning bush that was not being consumed. God manifested Himself through the bush, and the ground around the bush was so holy that Moses needed to remove his shoes. Then God’s Own voice emanated from the bush and commanded Moses to go to Egypt and free Israel. But what was Moses’ response to the simple, obvious command from God? Here’s my interpretation of his words: “Lord, I just don’t have peace about that!” God gave Moses a clear command yet Moses was not “at peace” with God’s will. Now consider David. In the midst of troubling years, being hunted by his king (and later by his son), we read that David often experienced the peace of God.

 

4. SO WHAT IS PEACE???

 

In all scholarly honesty . . . I can’t tell you!

 

Peace is very difficult to define. But in my defense I turn you back to Philippians 4:7. Paul tells us that genuine peace from God “surpasses all comprehension;” it cannot be communicated in its entirety. This is both a sad reality and yet a wonderful promise (which we will deal with later). So why is it so difficut to define? Peace is not a feeling or an action. It’s not a thought or a word. Peace is a state of being. It is a reality that exists in our minds. Dr. Mark Minnick, pastor of Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Greenville, SC, defines peace as “soul-rest.” It is pretty easy to describe emotions, actions, and thought patterns, but it is not so simple to define a state of being. That is why Dr. Minnick’s explanation is so helpful. The fifth definition in The American Heritage College Dictionary is also helpful, it describes peace as “inner contentment; serenity; a state of tranquility.”

 

Serenity. Tranquility. Rest. To truly have the peace of God is to experience a state of being that defies comprehension. It can be accompanied by wonderful feelings, or it can sustain though our feelings are in chaos. It’s a knowledge. It’s an understanding. It’s a plane of living. That is what we’re commanded to have.

 

So, how do receive this peace? What must we do to achieve this state of being? Read Philippians 4:4-9 and we’ll discuss it in Peace: Part III.

 

Until then, God bless.