"..always be guided by the peace.." - Colossians 3;15 (TPT)

How do you know when you are truly following the Lord and His purposes for your life?  You are guided by His peace.  Being a Christ-follower is all about abiding in the peace of God and letting that peace flow through us.  When we meet together with others it is that peace is what defines us as believers, we put our full confidence in Him as our resource for life and Godliness.

“Everything we could ever need for life and complete devotion to God has already been deposited in us by his divine power. For all this was lavished upon us through the rich experience of knowing him who has called us by name and invited us to come to him through a glorious manifestation of his goodness.” 
2 Peter 1:3 (TPT)

We have a unique position having everything we could ever need for a life of complete devotion to God which in turn forms Godliness or goodness within us, that is where the peace of God is most evident in our lives.

Coming to understand that God is not angry with us can be a stretch for some people, in fact, it is quite the opposite, God not only loves us like His own family members but He demonstrated His love for us by sacrificing Himself on our behalf on the cross and paying the cost for our sins.   

He went out of His way to prove it by His death which provides access for us by opening a doorway for us to enter into relationship with Him, that doorway Is Jesus.

“I am the Gateway. To enter through me is to experience life, freedom, and satisfaction. A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow!”

John 10:9-10 (TPT)

In ancient Jewish culture when the sheep were gathered into their pens for the night there was no doors or gates on the pens, the shepherd served as the gate on the pen to protect the sheep from predators, this is the picture that Jesus is painting here that you literally enter in through Him who is guarding the sheep pen.  There is an assurance that we are well protected by the shepherd who stands guard from any enemy that would seek to steal (kidnap), kill (slaughter), or destroy (slander or speak ill against our reputation).  He is able to protect us from any and all attacks.  This is where we take great solace in knowing that our savior is able to save us to the uttermost, that is resting in the peace of His protection.

“But Jesus lives forever, so he serves as a priest forever. That is why he is always able to save those who come to God through him. He can do this because he always lives and intercedes for them.” Hebrews 7:25 (GW)

Knowing that Jesus serves as a priest forever gives full assurance that He never changes and has no successors to take His place, He will not retire or grow weary in His position as our priest for He has a permanent placement which will never end.  In an ever-changing world where there is no job security or lasting assurances, Jesus is the only one who will not change and is steadfast, we can take comfort in the peace of His permanence.

“then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding, will make the answers known to you through Jesus Christ.” Philippians 4:7 (TPT)

We also have the knowledge that God has ways which are so higher than our ways, He can see every circumstance from beginning to end.  God has all of His creation planned out since the beginning of time so there is nothing that escapes His awareness.  We can take great comfort in knowing that God has everything figured out and has an answer for us which we can walk in His peace and confidence.

Everything that we need is available to us and we can be led and guided by Jesus through this life.

“Perfect, absolute peace surrounds those whose imaginations are consumed with you; they confidently trust in you.” 
Isaiah 26:3 (TPT)

When fear overtake4s our imagination, we can take a step back and take a hard look at what is truly before us and surrender it to the Lord so that He can once again be our strength and our peace.  We can completely trust Him for He is faithful to always be our defender when we need Him most. 

We also have each other as the body (or family) of Christ to be an encouragement to each other, that we together can trust Him in our combined strength as believers praying and lifting each other up before the Lord.

It is in this awareness that the peace of God will guard us and keep us that brings out thankfulness within our hearts that our trust is well-founded on the solid rock of Christ’s love for us, which never changes!

Be Blessed;

Stephen Barnett