On a recent trip to the Canadian coast, I saw some of the world’s largest ships in a major port. In ports like this, one may observe massive cargo vessels, some over one thousand feet long, arriving and departing. Yet, when storms make the port waters choppy, few cargoes are delivered. Instead, these ships often wait out at sea until the waters quiet down before they come safely into the port. Similarly, the greatest cargoes of life (the blessings and answers) come in over quiet seas. Confusion, anxiety, and fear make for tumultuous and choppy waters. Cultivating those quiet inner seas helps us bring in God’s cargoes of deliverance. And we can do that because we have God’s peace. It has been given to us, and it is available to manifest that genuine, lasting peace in our lives no matter what circumstances of life surround us.
In the new birth, we have peace with God because we are justified by believing what Jesus Christ accomplished for us.
Romans 5:1:
Therefore being justified by faith [by believing what Jesus Christ did], we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Being justified means we are completely released from the penalty of sin. It’s a legal acquittal—a judicial decision by which God acquits man of guilt and sin and declares man acceptable to Him. Being justified enables us to be at peace with God.
This peace with God can be defined as a state of undisturbed well-being with Him. It is freedom from fear, terror, anger, and anxiety. God gave us this in the new birth. It is His will for our lives, and what could be better than that? However, in our day-by-day lives, we are often confronted by things that could tempt us to become fearful, angry, or anxious, stealing away our tranquility with God. So what do we do to reclaim manifesting that peace in our lives? Let’s look at the answer in Isaiah.
Isaiah 26:3,4:
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.
For us to keep that perfect peace, it takes staying our minds on God and building our trust in Him. When we become convinced of God’s love and His ability to meet our every need, that peace is again manifested in our hearts. We go to God’s Word—that is our most reliable source of strength and peace. Dwelling on the Word reassures our hearts and calms our minds.
If we are troubled about a health situation, a relationship challenge, a financial difficulty, or situations we hear on the news, we can choose to dwell on those things and become fearful. OR we can choose to go to God’s Word and claim His promises, knowing that our God is all powerful and able to handle any situation—no matter how big it is. Ask yourself, “Is there anything too hard for God?” “Is this situation bigger than God?”
Jeremiah 32:17:
Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.
What a powerful verse to stay our minds on and claim, allowing that peace of God once again to rule in our hearts so we are free to believe God’s Word and claim His promises.
Colossians 3:15 says, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” To “rule” means to act as umpire. The umpire in a sports game makes the deciding call. We choose to let, or allow, God’s peace to rule in our hearts.
It’s the Word dwelling in us richly that helps us make the accurate and deciding call as to what we should or should not think. “Fear, you are out!” “Worry, you are out!” “I can do all things, you are in!” “God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all I ask or think, you can stay.” “God gave me power, love, and a sound mind—I am staying my mind on you!” This is a continual and deliberate process of staying our minds on Him. We put off negative thoughts and put on the spiritual thoughts of the Word, which are life and peace to us.
We all know challenges in life come up, tempting us to be distracted from the peace we have been given. But as believers who have the peace God gave us in the new birth, we choose to stay our minds on God and let His Word dwell in us richly. Then we can manifest that genuine and lasting peace, bringing in the greatest cargoes of life.