RIGHT TO PEACE For many people who have struggles in their lives, peace is hard to find. They continuously plead with God to help them make it through each day. The good news is, you do not need to beg God for peace—you already have a covenant of peace with Him! He is a God who keeps His promises, so peace is already available to you. What does a covenant of peace mean? What does it entitle a Believer to? We must look beyond our common understanding of what peace means when we are defining God’s covenant. The Hebrew meaning for peace is shalom, which means “completeness, soundness and safety (in body), welfare, health, prosperity, quiet, tranquility, contentment, and peace (from war).” God has a commitment to ensure that you have wholeness in every area—continuous prosperity; success in marriage, finances, family, health, and much more. When you read the following scriptures, replace peace with one of the definitions. Ezekiel 37:26 reads, “Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them.” If you place a definition into the scripture, it will read, “Moreover I will make a covenant of [prosperity] with them.” Or “I will make a covenant of [completeness or wholeness] with them.” How powerful is that! He is so committed to His covenant of peace that He mentions it several times throughout the Old Testament: Numbers 25:12; Isaiah 54:10; Ezekiel 34:25; Malachi 2:5; Hebrews 13:20. Peace has two functions. First, it prevents the hearts of God’s people from being troubled. By cultivating it, we will be ready for adverse circumstances when they come. Through the peace that we have developed, we now have God’s peace, and His peace will keep, or be like a military guard over, our hearts. In Mark 4:35-41, we see how trouble is designed to force peace out. Jesus and His disciples were on a ship when a huge storm began tearing at the boat and filling it with water. The disciples were troubled to say the least, but Jesus was asleep! They had to wake Jesus up because they were afraid. The storm, or trouble, had removed the disciples’ peace, but not that of Jesus. The second function of God’s covenant of peace is that it will guide your steps. When you take Colossians 3:15 and substitute a definition of peace into the scripture, you can feel the power, “And let the [completeness or wholeness] of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” He wants His peace to be the umpire of our hearts (AMP), and He wants us to have peace in our decisions when they line up with His Word. God’s peace is so great that it makes us whole in every area of our lives. He gave us His only Son to ensure that we receive peace. In John 14:27, Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” He is leaving us His Word and giving us His wholeness—prosperity, restoration, success, good health, and more. When we begin to cultivate peace, and it becomes a way of life, you can take 2 Corinthians 13:11 to heart: “Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.”
Posted on: Sun, 30 Jun 2013 07:00:52 +0000
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