damolaolomu

Peace.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

— Philippians 4:7.

focal points:

• peace as an anchor. 
• peace as a ticker- a knower. 
• peace as a tangible state of being- a reality that overrides lying vanities.

• PEACE AS AN ANCHOR.

An anchor in the context of ships and seas, is a big metal heavy object, used to secure vessels to the seabed, to keep it from drifting during turbulence.  Peace is one of the ways the Lord keeps us grounded in this word of corruption and sin.  It is written that we’re in the world, not of it, we’re of a different heritage but currently in this fallen world on this side of eternity.  This world became perverted when the devil stole authority from Adam. This world lost equilibrium and corruption found its way into this world. 

In the beginning, all that God made was good. But since this corruption crept in, creation groans, and there’s going to be a new world, a new dispensation, but while we’re here, there are tribulations. – Gen 1:31, Rom 8:19, Rom 5:3. 

Tribulations as in persecution, warfare, pain, sacrifices among other things as God’s people. This world is run by the prince of the power of the air- satan and his kingdom of the fallen ones. He’s got a government, and because he lost, he knows his time is short, he’s on a rampage, to inflict pain and sorrows to us as God’s people because quite frankly, he can’t fight God, but he’d fight us to get to our father.  – 1 Pet 5:8. 

Even in all this though, we triumph gloriously, we dominate, we win, because Jesus won. And all the tribulations and temptations actually work together for us for good, giving us a greater weight of glory. But it doesn’t always feel that way. That’s where peace comes in. God’s peace. Jesus is the prince of peace, we have his spirit in us, so we have peace. Peace that keeps us grounded, deeply rooted, knowing we’re in christ and christ is in us.  This peace helps us sleep through the storms of life  just like Jesus did in the boat. 

We know we’re in God, and we’re at his right hand, seated in heavenly places. This peace helps us know we’re good, because we believe God’s word as the absoluteness of his power. We know we are more than conquerors by this peace. -Isa 9:6,  Eph 3:13, 2 Thess 1:4. 

• PEACE AS A TICKER.

Peace can also be a very important tool for discernment, it can be used to discern God’s state of heart about our situations,decisions, desires and even us as his chosen.  Peace as a state of mind is one of God’s ways of speaking to us, as believers we know we have peace by his spirit. Now what happens when that peace is displaced? When we’re troubled by the spirit, we know something’s off.  And that loss of peace can mean different things for different reasons and scenarios. I’ll touch on a few of these.

These are all signs and nudgings of the spirit, all greek words.  Meaning different things, but i’ll simplify. 

Tarasso – agitation, being troubled, stirred up or made restless by the spirit, to be perplexed.   It can be a warning sign, of things to come, or a consequence following an action.  – Mark 6:50, Matt 2:3, Matt 14:26. 

 Paroxuno – irritation, being provoked, aroused to anger, to be exasperated, to burn with anger.  This is mostly a nudging of the spirit to take action. – Acts 17:16. 

 Epiginosko –  to know accurately, to know well, discern, recognise, by sight, hearing, of certain signs, to perceive who a person is or what something really is. – Matt 7:16, Matt 7:20, Luke 5:22, Matt 14:35, Acts 4:13, Acts 12:14.

 Splagchnizomai –  to have the bowels(inward parts) yearn, to have sympathy, to pity, to have (be moved with) compassion. – Matt 9:36, Matt 14:14, Mark 1:41, Mark 6:34, Mark 8:2. 

 Epitimáō – To rebuke, to charge, to admonish. This is also a call to take action by the spirit, to enforce. Usually sternly. – Matt 8:26, Matt 12:16, Matt 17:18, Mark 1:25. 

 Sternazo – deep groaning, deep sighs. travail. Can be a note of victory, or  intercession by the spirit, it can also be a sign of a burden, or a longing. – Matt 7:34, 2 Corinthians 5:2,4, Romans 8:23. 

These are a few signs that replace peace within us as a perpetual state of mind or being. Telling us something’s up or something needs to be done.  We live a supernatural life as we’re  supernatural beings and these are some of our weapons of advantage over the enemy. 

• PEACE AS A TANGIBLE STATE OF BEING. 

As renewed and redeemed beings, peace is one of the ways we know all the things we believed by faith are true and real even though they’re intangible.  Peace is one of the ways we know we’re righteous, holy, acceptable, and loved.  Peace is a reality, a literal blanket that shields us from the lying vanities of this world. One of the ways the enemy attacks us is by attacking our hearts, by offense, by pressures, sometimes lack, temptations and magnifying unpleasant situations. But peace is one of the ways we live above it. – Jam 1:2

By resting and focusing on God’s word, having greater and higher revelations of who he is to us as father, friend, redeemer, keeper, and the many other dimensions of who he is. By trusting in him fully, and resting in hope, we enter this economy that gives us a rest that’s supernatural. A state where it doesn’t matter what’s happening, your joy is intact, your heart is protected and you sail even though storms rage. – Rom 14:17, Phil 4:7.

In conclusion, as believers we shouldn’t be conformed to this world, we live above it even though we’re physically in it.  We’re not of it, so our realities, mental modules and perspectives should reflect that. Peace is one of our advantages.  

Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.

— Jude 2  

Shalom, saint!