John 14:27 NKJV 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.
John 14:27 AMPC Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]
- It is the will of God for the believer to live in the peace of Jesus Christ!
If Jesus said that we should have this, then we should know what it is.
Peace – (GREEK) – Eirene – Opposite of war and dissension, peace of mind, tranquility; health, welfare, prosperity, every kind of good.
Peace (HEBREW) – shalom – safe, well, friendly, good welfare (health, prosperity, peace, favor, rest; all is well.
- Jesus has given to us the peace that He walked in while here in the earth.
The peace that Jesus had kept Him during everything He faced including the Cross and He has given that peace to us.
- One of the greatest enemies to your peace in Christ Jesus, is going to be worry!
Philippians 4:6-9 TPT Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude. Tell him every detail of your life, (7) then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding, will make the answers known to you through Jesus Christ. (8) So keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always. (9) Follow the example of all that we have imparted to you and the God of peace will be with you in all things.
John 14:1 AMPC DO NOT let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated). You believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely on God; believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely also on Me.
Troubled = to stir up with questions
Matthew 6:25 KJV Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Matthew 6:27 KJV Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Matthew 6:28 KJV And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
Matthew 6:31 KJV Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Matthew 6:34 KJV Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
If Jesus says something once, it is important. If He says something five times in 10 verses, it must be extremely important. Why is that?
By implication, Jesus is saying that we have a choice in what we think about and can select the thoughts that we dwell on in our minds.
- What you think about has more to do with you in living in the peace of God than anything else.
What you think about is what you will eventually believe. What you believe is eventually what you will say. What you believe and say is what you will have and experience in this life.
What caused Elijah to lose his peace?
1 Kings 19:1-4 NLT When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. (2) So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.” (3) Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. (4) Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”
Elijah had experienced this great victory in the Lord and defeated the prophets of Baal and killed them. Jezebel told Elijah she was going to kill him, and he lost his peace.
- Elijah let the words of Jezebel distract him in such a way that he lost his peace, fell into depression, and wanted to die.
It will be hard to maintain peace in your soul when you are tired and hungry. That is why the Angel of the Lord gave Elijah food and made him rest to start to bring him back to a place of peace.
1 Kings 19:5-8 NKJV Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” (6) Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. (7) And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” (8) So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.
God did this to bring Elijah to a place where he could hear the Word of the Lord and receive strength, peace, and courage.
God then ministers to Elijah by His Word and strengthens him and gets his eyes back on Him and helped him get his peace back.
Elisha did not lose his peace…
2 Kings 6:14-17 NKJV Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. (15) And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” (16) So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (17) And Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Elisha refused to set his mind on what he could see in the natural, which was being surrounded and potential defeat.
- Elisha was able to maintain his peace by not allowing his mind to wander from the Word of God.
What Word did Elisha stand on?
Psalms 3:1-6 NKJV LORD, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. (2) Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah (3) But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head. (4) I cried to the LORD with my voice, And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah (5) I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustained me. (6) I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me all around.
Psalms 27:1-3 NKJV The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? (2) When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. (3) Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident.
- Elisha kept his mind set on the promise of God’s Word!
Isaiah 26:3 NKJV You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.
In the Hebrew, the word perfect is not used in this verse. Instead, the writers used shalom twice indicating that it is a super superlative.
A super superlative means it is “expressing the highest or a very high degree of a quality”.
Isaiah 26:3 NLT You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!
Isaiah 26:3 MSG People with their minds set on you, you keep completely whole, Steady on their feet, because they keep at it and don’t quit.
- If you will keep your mind set on God’s Word, you will experience the highest degree of the peace of God!