You Were Called to Peace

 

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:27)

Peace is a gift that has already been given to us. It is a blessing we can receive when we trust in the Lord. Our faith in Him allows us to receive it because we can rest in that He loves us, sees us, and is working good in our lives.

Sometimes our circumstance just don’t seem good. We can experience opposition on every side. But the peace the Lord gives to us is not a peace of freedom from circumstances that are difficult. It is the peace that comes from following His will and knowing we can count on Him no matter our circumstances.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown in the fiery furnace. God did not keep them out of tribulation of difficulty even though they were devout followers who trusted and loved God with all their hearts. They had to be bursting with incredible joy as they were miraculously marching around in the fiery furnace praising God.

It led to an unimaginable testimony and allowed the king to get a glimpse of their God who is all powerful and above every other God. Navigating trouble and difficulty with belief and faithfulness brought an amazing testimony forward that witnessed the power and goodness of God.

However, the testimony, joy and peace only came about because of their faith and devotion to the Lord. If they had not been fully devoted or have a deep relationship with the Lord already, this would have been a different situation. They would have most likely bowed to the idol out of fear like everyone else and totally lacked peace.

Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

In this verse, there is an action of looking to God in faith. When we do and receive the Holy Spirit, He brings peace with Him. He is like the Ark of the Covenant in that He brings all the wonderful blessings and power of God with Him, including wrapping us up in His peace and filling us with it.

Yet, we see people who believe in Christ and lack peace. We also see people who believe lack healing and all the other benefits of the Kingdom of God. Maybe this is because, in the Kingdom of God, everything is based upon faith. From receiving our salvation to walking our salvation out with fear and trembling, it operates from a place of faith. Our Covenant with God is based upon faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. And Abraham, our forefather of the Covenant, believed God without wavering which was counted him as righteousness.

Romans 5:1 says, Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.” It is by faith, that we step confidently into the place of undeserved privilege of sharing not only His peace, but the abounding goodness we have available to us through Him (Romans 5:2).

It is by faith that we can say to a mountain to be moved, and see it move. Throughout the Bible, we see example after example of faith. Story after story. We see in Joshua, story after story about God using a small group of people to powerfully overtake an entire army and region. And we also see people having superficial faith (self-confidence) that had no impact. When the people sinned against God and hid it, it was clear God was not with them and they were defeated.

So how do we get great faith? We know by the fiery furnace, that God displayed and stretched the faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So, one way that God gives us greater faith is by giving us greater trials where our faith will be displayed and exercised. As we overcome, we grow in faith.

Romans 10:17 says that, “Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Hearing here is akoé, Strongs# 189. It means to receive and understand the gospel. So, hearing the preached word of God or reading the Words of God are a way to strengthen and grow one's faith. It also means to receive a testimony or good report. So, hearing someone’s testimony of God touching or changing their life increases faith. Giving a testimony and sharing one's story also increases one's faith.

We know that faith comes through relationship with God. Abraham had great faith because he heard God speak to him and he believed it. He took what God had to say seriously which resulting in him moving forward on it. So faith, while it comes through hearing, is only activated as it is acted upon. So, the more we step out on what we hear God say and do not disregard it, our faith will grow.

Joshua was someone with great faith. First of all, Joshua spent time with the Lord. He was always lingering in the Lord’s presence. Second, he had friends that had great faith. He was under Moses who had incredible faith for the promises of God and Joshua gleaned from Moses’s experience. As a result, Joshua saw that the land of Canaan was good, and that God promised it to them so he had great faith to believe they could overcome anyone inhabiting the land. He didn’t allow other’s fears to impact his faith. Holding to the promises no matter how others reacted strengthened his faith. God then used this faith to lead the people into victory.

In Joseph, we see great faith being developed through faithfulness. Joseph continued to honor God no matter what happened in his life. He surrendered his circumstances and instead of becoming bitter or offended with God, he stayed trusting. This grew his faith in such a way that led him ultimately to lead the people in Egypt under the Pharoah. He saw God come through every time that he set his heart to honor Him first.

In Daniel we also see that he had great faith. He had spiritual practices of fasting and prayer as well as kneeling three times a day to pray to God. Even though he was taken out of his land and infused with all this other learning, he never detoured from putting God first or following the things that honored God.

Decisions to honor God in all that we do and the resulting decisions to follow spiritual practices to honor him regularly will grow our faith. Steve Backlund writes, “I am no realizing that those who grow radically in Christ and life are those who have found a way to be consistent in powerful habits in even the toughest of times.

Excuses, inconsistencies, expectation of ease, and any sin are all things that will try to choke out our faith. When we constantly give in to compromise, it becomes easier to compromise or give in. What we are really developing is a practice of giving in. When we let difficulty, busyness, or other events crowd out our practices we are still practicing something – compromise. Ugg, that just kills me right now. Lately I have found that I practice compromise. I am on a fast and I broke it yesterday as I had a headache and had some stress about meeting up with my boys biological mother. But, changing my practice due to circumstance just leads to more bowing to my circumstances.

Through David, we see that being faithful in the little things builds faith. When David was faithful behind the scenes when no one was looking, his faith grew. Then when he was called out to stand at the front, his faith was just an extension of what he had been doing. Small faith and faithfulness resulted in large faith.

Also, we see from him that worshipping God and holding to prophetic vision also strengthens one’s faith. We need to continually be looking upward to grow our faith. Perhaps a good practice when one feels stressed or like compromising would be to worship God and ask Him for a fresh vision.

As Steve Backlund notes, we need to push through the inner resistances, excuses and procrastinations.[2] We create margin in our lives by making margin by the habits we hold. When we keep commitments to ourselves, it strengthens our muscles to keep future commitments to ourselves. As his wife, Wendy Backlund notes, "We will never possess what we do not pursue." [3]

I imagine that those who did bow down to the idol that the king presented, made just another excuse. They learned at some point that they could compromise and make excuses and just did what they had been practicing behind the scenes.

The Bible warns about a “lazy” person being riddled with fear and thinking a lion is out on every road. A lazy person by definition is someone who makes excuses and does not do the disciplines that would be beneficial to them in the long run. They choose short-term compromises and being comfortable in the moment over what needs to be done.

A person who compromises and makes excuses will lack faith. And their lack of faith will result in a lack of peace in their lives. They cannot enter rest and waiver because they do not have experience of God meeting them with faithfulness.

While I wouldn’t consider myself “lazy” and do not struggle with a lack of peace, I have found more recently that I have allowed little compromises into my life. I hear the Song of Songs in the background, “Catch the little foxes for us that spoil the vine.” These little compromises of setting out to fast, but then cutting it short or sleeping in past the time God has for me to get up can just lead to practicing giving in and not giving my best.

When Cain and Able came before the Lord, both of them offered a sacrifice. However, one was accepted and the other was not. For Able, He gave God his very best. He genuinely put his all into glorifying God and giving him the very best he had. For Cain, he did what he felt obligated to do and he cut corners. It wasn’t that he didn’t offer up anything to the Lord. But it was riddled with compromise. It was not his best from the heart, but a tool to use to manipulate God and get His blessing so it just was not accepted.

David said that he wasn’t going to give the Lord an offering that didn’t cost him something. As we know from example after example, the cost matters to God. Just like when we get a trinket gift that was a secondhand gift or consideration, you can tell there is not the same valuing of the person in it.

While I am sure that God celebrates our offerings whenever they come from the heart, I want to give Him my best and not my last. I want to give Him something of excellence and not riddled with compromises. Forgive me Lord.

Lord, you are worthy of our all. Help us to honor and glorify you with all that we have within us. Let our lives reflect that you are worthy of our best. Instead of offering you something with compromises, empower us to exalt you in all we do.

1-2. Backlund, Steve. Victorious Mindsets: The Power of Intentional Thinking. 2020.

3. Backlund, Wendy. Unseen Realm. Igniting Hope Ministries.