Peace and patience
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).
Before we were reconciled with God, the Bible says that we were at war with Him. Because of God’s love for us, He chose to reconcile sinners to Himself, through Jesus Christ. Now, those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior are at peace with God (no longer enemies) and made alive in Him (Romans 5:10)!
The peace God gives us is unlike any peace the world can offer.
The Hebrew word for peace (shalom) carried a deeper meaning than our English word for peace. It implies not only the absence of conflict and turmoil, but a positive blessing. This peace remains steadfast amid any and all circumstances we may face. Often, it shines the brightest in the face of trials and tribulations.
A quick google search will claim peace as, “freedom from disturbance; tranquility” or “a state or period in which there is no war or a war has ended.”
The life of Jesus, who is the Prince of Peace, provides us a very clear understanding of the kind of peace He offers us. Looking at His life, we discover that peace does not rely on:
Our present circumstances;
The way we are received or perceived;
Freedom from disturbances.
“Sin, fear, uncertainty, doubt, and despair are at war within us, but the peace of God restrains these hostile forces and offers comfort in places of conflict” (Bible Commentary, NIV).
Because God’s very nature is peace, He can freely offer us His peace right in the midst of our greatest tribulations. Because of Christ, we can walk through any situation with a confident hope that God holds all things together for our good.
It’s easy to see a world that is constantly out of sync with the values of Christ and grows bitter towards God and people. However, Jesus warned His disciples and followers that there will be many uncomfortable times where the world will not always receive them with love and joy but instead, with hate and hostility.
Jesus said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
The Good News is this: We can find peace and refute fear by setting our hearts and minds on Christ and His finished work on the cross. Our hope is found in Christ’s victory over sin and death.
In Romans 12:12, we are encouraged to be joyful in hope and patient in affliction.
Peace and patience are a posture and stance we take in Christ that helps bear witness to the Holy Spirit’s active work in our lives.
“In the Bible, patience is not a passive acceptance of circumstances. It is a courageous perseverance in the face of suffering and difficulty” (Warren Wiersbe).
Without the help of the Holy Spirit in our lives, choosing patience is almost always our last resort. When we take the posture of patience, we are choosing to have an unwavering trust in God that He is in control and He has the final say.
God is constantly displaying His character towards us — and there is no greater example of patience than God’s patience with us!
Paul captures it when he says in 1 Timothy 1:13,16 —
“I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent… But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”
The Great News is this: God offers His peace and His unending patience to all who would receive it through Jesus!
May our posture of peace and patience reveal the powerful transforming work of Jesus Christ in our own lives.
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock” (Isaiah 26:3-4).