The Blessing of Peace

The first time I experienced the supernatural peace of the Lord was during the process of my conversion.  My road to salvation was not an ordinary journey from an evangelical perspective.  As a child raised in a Roman Catholic family, I had faith in God and even through my teenage years, as I lost faith in religion, I did not lose faith in God.  My obedience to Him, however, did fall away through those teenage years.  It was not until the age of 20 that I began an earnest search for truth which resulted in my conversion experience.  When I began to seek out truth, because of someone witnessing to me, I would always feel like my “subconscious” knew something that my conscious mind did not.  It was the need to discover and express this inner knowing that ignited a desire in me to want to write.  I did not know at the time that it was the Spirit of God drawing me to a knowledge of the truth.  It was in this spiritual condition that I first experienced the blessing of peace.

During my pursuit for truth, I decided to retreat into the forest for contemplation.  I borrowed my brother’s canoe and had him drop me off at the Poplar River so I could follow it to Lac Ouellette.  It was not until the first night in my tent that I realized how alone I was out there in the forest, armed only with an axe and a camera.  It is surprising how loud animal sounds in the forest can be when you close your eyes and try and sleep.  I still remember my anxiety, trying to distinguish those sounds, not certain if they were caused by a squirrel or a bear.  What else could I do but pray for protection?  It came immediately.  A sense of peace covered me like a blanket.  There is no better way to describe it.  It allowed me to calm down and fall asleep.  It also caused me to wake up spiritually.  There really was a God present to answer prayer!  It was not long after that I came to a place of surrender to Christ Jesus as my Lord.

The peace of the Lord is still very real to me.  It has been the means to my hearing the voice of God.  We cannot hear the Spirit of God in our spirit if our mind is anxious.  It has also allowed me to overcome the fears that have tried to cripple me.  There would never have been any character growth in me without this peace.  Realizing its value, I have been particularly aware of the mention of it in scriptures.  Have you ever noticed for example that many of the New Testament epistles begin or end with a blessing of “grace and peace”?  Even in the Old Testament we read that the blessing Aaron was instructed to pray over the people included this peace of the Lord.  “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel.  Say to them: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”’ (Nu. 6:23-26).

In these turbulent times we need the peace of the Lord.  It is a source of health and strength because in rest you place your confidence in the Lord and your faith is activated.  “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” (Isa. 30:15).  For my wife and I, this has also been a challenging but exciting time in our lives.  We are in the process of moving to another community as we transition from full-time secular employment to more time for family and ministry.  We are very busy with these changes and we look with anticipation to all that the Lord will do.  It is this peace of the Lord that we continually go back to as we encounter one concern or another.  It is in times of stress that we either get stronger or we get defeated.  For us, this has been a time of strength because we continue to rest in the Lord.  It is not because we are something in ourselves, but because the grace of the Lord is enabling us to rest.  When we look to the Lord, we find peace (Isa. 26:3).  In peace and trust we find our strength and our help which is from the Lord.

As believers, we can be witnesses of the grace and mercy of God because of the peace of God in our lives.  Many around us are living in fear or denial.  Peace is given freely to those who have returned to the Lord, but we must learn to rest in it.  “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.” (Col. 3:14).  The exhortation to be thankful is related to the ability to abide in peace.  “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  (Phil. 4:6,7).  So, peace will come through trusting God.  This type of trust is nurtured by devotion.  “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”  (Isa. 26:3).

Because we love God and we place our trust in Him, we can expect to receive His protection. We know that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28).  We can meditate on His promises for deliverance.  “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.  He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.  With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” (Ps. 91:14-16).  Do not put set your eyes on circumstances that are subject to change, set your attention on the Lord.