We read and hear a good deal about peace today. But is there any real peace anywhere? Certainly the nations are not at peace. There may be no open warfare in some countries. But there can be no genuine peace while nations are working on destructive weapons with which to kill each other, or while one nation refrains from attacking another merely because that nation possesses more atom bombs, guided missiles, etc. It is said that the way to have peace is to prepare for war. That may be the way to keep actual bombs from falling for the time being, but is not the way to peace.
There was a cartoon in a newspaper or magazine which pictured two rows of huge guns, one row on each side of a narrow path. Walking up this path was Jesus with a lamb in His arms, and underneath the cartoon was the word “peace” in capital letters, with an interrogation point after it.
What is peace, and who has it? It is not necessary to look behind the Iron Curtain because we know what is to be found there. Every day the firing squad is busy “liquidating” unfortunate people who may have done nothing worse than express their despair in complaints against the tyranny of those in power. There is hunger, poverty and misery everywhere.
Cold war Deadly
Now let us see what conditions prevail in more favored lands. There is no actual shooting war as yet. But the “cold war”, almost as deadly, goes on, with seemingly no end in sight. On the surface, people may appear to be at peace, but underneath they are appalled at existing conditions. They may have plenty of this world’s goods; they may rush to and fro to view the wonders of different lands; they may go to glittering, expensive places of amusement and endeavor to put the specter of fear behind them. But when, at last, they must pause in their mad rush, and their thoughts crowd in upon them, they find that fear walks beside them. They cannot keep him away for long.
Is anybody in today’s world really at peace? Yes, a few people are. Those who have faith in God have perfect peace, no matter what trials befall them. Let us examine a few Scriptures and see what they tell us about this or related subjects.
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” (Isaiah 26:3).
To have our minds “stayed” on God is to have unwavering faith in Him. A little faith will not suffice, it must never falter. ” . . . Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord” (James 1:6,7).
How do we get unwavering faith? By studying the Word of God. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).
Faith comes from God’s Word
Faith is not a product of the emotions, it is the product of deep and earnest study of God’s Word. We must believe that God is, and in Jesus Christ whom He has sent, and we must know the truth about God and His Son in order to have this unwavering faith. We need only to read Hebrews 11 to see what the saints of old accomplished through faith. We must have this same kind of faith before we can have perfect peace. So we see that we must first study to show ourselves approved, and have unwavering faith before we can have God’s promised peace. Will we never falter in our faith? We will, for life is sometimes very hard. But David has said: “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee . . . ” (Psalms 55:22)
What does it mean for the Lord to sustain us? Does it mean that He will relieve us of all responsibility to help ourselves to the extent of our ability? No, it does not mean this. It means that, while we are doing the best we can to solve our problems, He will uphold us and give us strength to bear them, and wisdom to solve them in the best way.
Do we ever become weary and heavy laden? We do. We are only human and God remembers that “we are but dust.” But listen to what Jesus tells us: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). He tells us to come to Him and He will give us rest. Rest from all our labors ? No, but rest in the sense that we need no longer strive in our own strength, but in His. If we do this, then we will have rest and peace because “we will know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
There are many Scriptures on faith and peace, but one more will suffice. “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” (John 14:27).
Here John tells us that the Lord has promised to leave His peace with us. If anybody leaves anything with us, then it is in our possession. So, if we study and have faith in God, we should have peace in our possession. We may not have the peace which the world promises to give: the false peace of wealth, position and power. Such peace passes away like a breath of wind, but not the peace that our Father gives us. This Scripture also tells us that we should not be afraid. This means that we should not be afraid of anything the world can do to us, because we know that “the angel of the Lord encampeth round about us and delivereth us (Psalms 34:7). In what way does he deliver us? Sometimes he may deliver us from actual danger; at other times the deliverance comes by giving us peace in the knowledge that whatever happens to us is for the best. Like Jesus, we are immune until “our time comes.”
How blessed and wonderful is this peace! Peace in the midst of tribulation, peace in war, peace in sickness, yes, peace when facing our last great enemy, death. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord” (Romans 8:35; 38,39).
Let us have our hearts and minds so filled with the spirit of the Lord that He will become our partner in every undertaking, that He will dwell with us, in our hearts, in our homes, in our lives, everywhere we go and in everything that we do. Then we shall indeed know peace, His peace “which passeth all understanding . . . ” (Phil. 4:7)
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One