Abundance of Peace

"In His days the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more." He will redeem their life from oppression and violence; and precious shall be their blood in His sight." Psalm 72:7, 14.

The above verses are from Psalm 72, a whole chapter of Solomon's prophecy on Jesus Christ and His coming.

Jesus fulfilled the first part of our opening verse, that is, giving us (the righteous) an abundance of peace:

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.

Galatians 5:22

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace...

With this in mind, if you are not at peace, you are depriving yourself of your right and rightfully purchased gift of peace. It is abnormal for a Christian not to be at peace; it is not impossible, but it is abnormal. Why? Because we have been given an abundance of peace, and have peace as a fruit of the Spirit. This peace is never influenced by external circumstances; no matter what is on the outside, there is an abundance of peace within you, at your disposal. Not enjoying peace, regardless, of the circumstances is like dying of hunger while locked up in a supermarket.

We draw out and enjoy this peace by keeping our minds on God and His word:

Philippians 4:8-9

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. ⁹ The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

Rom. 8:5-6

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 

Isaiah 26:3

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

 

If you are not enjoying peace, your mind is obviously not on God. God says He will keep you in perfect peace, if you stay/keep your mind on Him, which is an indication that you trust Him. You cannot keep your mind on God and His Word and fail to enjoy peace. Whenever you are not at peace, realize you have taken your mind off God, and focused it on other things. Peace is still in abundance in your spirit, and you will switch back to enjoying it by re-focusing your mind on God. Your mind is the switch that either releases peace from your spirit, or blocks it. When you focus on God, you turn on the switch and receive peace from your spirit; when you focus on other things, you turn off the switch and block peace from your spirit. Being at peace is always a choice. The other way we enjoy peace is through prayer: 

Philippians 4:6-7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

You do not need any more peace than what He gave you; all you need to do is utilize what He gave you. Peace does not come form the outside, but from the inside; this is why Jesus told us that we should not LET our hearts be troubled:

John 14:1

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me." 

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.

It is a choice not to be at peace. We can always draw from the well and abundance of peace in our spirits, by prayer and meditation on the word of God. I have heard people say that the devil stole their peace, or their joy. That's not true, as peace and joy are fruit of the Spirit, in your spirit; the devil cannot touch your spirit, as it is sealed by the Holy Spirit Himself (Eph. 1:13-14). The devil can throw thoughts of worry and anxiety to you, but it is your choice to pick them up and let them take your focus off God and His Word. You walk away from peace, by allowing Him to distract you and take your mind off God, and focus on whatever he gives you to focus on (worry, anxiety, fear, confusion, and so on). You cannot stop the devil from throwing thoughts at you, but you can stop yourself from receiving and acting on these thoughts. Like one preacher said, you cannot stop birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from building a nest over your head. Whatever the enemy brings your way, it is always your choice whether to allow it to trouble your heart, or let it pass on, and leave you enjoying your peace. You cannot choose what comes your way, but you can always choose how you react towards it. 

Do not hesitate to rebuke the devil whenever he comes knocking with thoughts of worry, fear, confusion, or anxiety. Stop putting up with him and watching him steal your peace. Fight for your peace, in Jesus' name. That's why the Bible admonishes us to resist him, and when we do, he will flee (Jas. 4:7). As long as you keep resisting, he will keep fleeing. If he comes a thousand times, resist him a thousand times. The only reason he has been messing with you is because you have been putting up with him, not realizing that an abundance of peace is your portion. Guard your peace like you would guard a very important and expensive gift a loved one bought you, against theft by thieves and robbers. Guard it constantly, as your peace is very important and expensive, blood-bought, purchased by the One who loves you dearly. It is His own peace, so please guard it, by keeping your mind on God's Word, and remaining in prayer. 

Philippians 4:6-7 tells us not to be anxious about anything, but to present everything to God in prayer, with thanksgiving, THEN His peace will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. When anxiety knocks on the door, send prayer to answer the door, and peace will keep guarding your heart and mind. Prayer and the Word of God are the tools you use to keep away the enemies of peace. Peace guards your heart and mind, as these are what anxiety, fear and worry target. This is because your heart is the wellspring of the issues of life, and your mind where thoughts that define you are made (Prov. 23:7). This is why Paul says: 

Colossians 3:15
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 

  

Again, Paul uses "LET", to show us that we have a choice, whether the peace of God will rule our hearts, or whether anxiety, worry and fear will rule our hearts. If you are anxious, it is your choice, and there is something you can always do about it: pray, and meditate on the Word of God. 

The 2nd part of our opening verses tells us that by His coming our souls were redeemed from deceit and violence. In short, He will keep us from deception, and violence of any sort. He follows to tell us that our blood is precious in His sight!! While we are busy worrying and fearing for our lives, Jesus says He values our blood. Why? Because He shed His for our sake, so He wouldn't want us to shed ours. Everything He did He did for our sake. He cares for us, so we do not have to care and worry about ourselves. This is why He tells us to keep casting our burdens to Him, for He cares (1 Pet. 5:7).

Do not be afraid; Jesus can't let your blood spill, because your blood is precious in His sight, and He promises to redeem your soul from violence. It is well with the righteous (Is. 3:11). Fear not, for He is with you. He will never leave you not forsake you. Hold on to His word, and believe in His promises, and they shall come to pass. This is how you draw out His peace from your spirit, and enjoy it.

At this time where bad news surround us, meditate on your Saviour's promises and commitments to you. He died for you, paying the highest price for you; what can't He do for you? Believe in His love today, no matter what you see, walking by faith and not by sight, thereby enjoying an abundance of peace; it was paid for!

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]" John 16:33 (AMP).

Yes, in this world we will have tribulations, trials, distress and frustration, so do not be surprised when they show up. Jesus told us this so that we will not be surprised when they show up, and went ahead to assure us that everything that comes your way has been overcome, by Him. It has been deprived of the power to harm you, so you should not fear it. Jesus told us this so that we can continue enjoying peace. Remind yourself of this truth whenever anything comes your way, and enjoy perfect peace and confidence in Jesus. 

Enjoy an abundance of peace, today and every other day!

Blessings.

(16/11/14 Sunday Service Exhortation, Teaching Transformation Ministry.) 

Brother Sam Gitonga is a Youth Leader at Teaching Transformation Ministry. We are located along the Thika-Ruai Flyover Junction (at the Thika Rd./ Bypass intersection), Next to Eastgate Restaurant.