“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.”—John 14:27
The Bible meaning of peace in both Hebrew and Greek is to be
well, to be happy, to be healthy, to be prosperous, to be restful, to be safe,
to be whole, to be secure, to be quiet, and set at one again with God. I like to think of peace as: The state of being
in which we were designed to be in harmony with God.
Isaiah 48:17-18 tells us how we can experience the presence of God in our lives. “Thus
says the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy one of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you to profit, who leads you be the way you should go. Oh, that you had heeded my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.’” We see in this scripture that peace is equated to “heeding” God’s
commandments. “Heeding” implies to pay
attention. God’s commandments were given
to guide mankind in ways of peace and
doing what is right and to protect them from sin and suffering. Paying attention to God’s laws means: following them, practicing them and being
guided by them. When we follow God’s
instructions, our peace will be “like
a river.” This is God’s promise to
us. If we are not experiencing peace like a river, we need to check up
on ourselves to see if we are heeding His word.
I encourage you today to be aware of
the presence of God in your life, and
to allow the peace of God—the harmony
between you and God to rule and reign in your heart.
Prayer—Father
I thank You for Your peace that passes all understanding ruling and reigning in
my heart. Father I ask for Your help in
paying attention to Your Word so that I experience Your presence in my life, in
Jesus Name. Amen.
