In the sermon he preached on November 21, 2021, Pastor Eric shared how the peace of God relieves worry, anxiety, and fear.

Read Ephesians 2:14 and Isaiah 9:6

Jesus, the Prince of Peace, instructs us not to let our hearts be troubled. (John 14:1)

According to the Bible, Jesus Christ does more than provide us with peace; He is peace. When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, we can be at peace in all circumstances. This peace is beyond comprehension and comes only from God.

The Greek word ‘eiréné’ means ‘peace’. It also refers to a state of calm, rest, and peace of mind. The word ‘peace’, which is also a Jewish farewell, is synonymous with a person’s health and well-being. Eiréné is also derived from the Greek word ‘eiro’, which means ‘to join’, ‘to bind together’, and is referred to as ‘wholeness’.

Read John 13:27

God is not a God of disorder, but of peace. If God is our peace and we follow Him, we will experience peace. We must acknowledge, however, that there are a number of things, people, and circumstances that can interfere with our sense of tranquility, such as when we receive an unexpected bill; when the doctor says he found a malignant lump in our body; or when someone says something hurtful to us. We must safeguard our peace.

How can we safeguard our peace?

We must continually return to the source of peace.

Read Philippians 4:5-7

The apostle Paul understood how anxious people can become when problems arise, so he offered a solution to attaining peace: pray about everything and do not worry. This is what we should aim for.

Sometimes when we encounter problems, we turn to alternative solutions in an effort to find peace. We often assume that if we worked less or if we had more money, we would have peace. However, when we read the bibliographies of some of the wealthiest people who ever lived, we see that perhaps that is not the case. Many of them were wealthy, but they had everything but peace.

Sometimes, the very thing we believe will bring us peace will actually exacerbate our anxiety, because the world’s peace is transient and superficial. In contrast, if we are children of God, no matter how challenging life may become, we can still enjoy God’s peace – a peace that is beyond human comprehension – as God’s peace is independent of our circumstances. Finding tranquility is not an easy task. Therefore, we should make it a habit to bring our worries, anxieties and fears to the Lord the moment we feel them.

Finding peace in the midst of our storm does not mean that we have no problems, that our issues have been resolved, or that we have all the answers. During a time of trouble, we will find that God’s peace that transcends all understanding comforts us. When we have God’s peace, we don’t need to know all the specifics of what God is going to do, how He will rescue us, or what He will accomplish through our hardship. All we need to do is trust Him. The peace of God is an indication of God’s presence and that He is dealing with our problems. When we encounter difficulties, His peace encourages us.

Sometimes we receive a word that gives us peace in our distress. It may not give us all the details, but it gives us hope. It gives us something to hold on to.

Read Isaiah 26:3 and 1 Peter 5:7

We need to cast all our anxieties on the Lord, because He cares for us.

We must lock it up.

It is imperative that we keep our minds focused on Christ. When our minds are focused on our problems, we experience stress, but when our hearts and minds are anchored on Christ, we find rest. We must remember that nothing in this world can rob us of our peace if we choose to secure it. We have the option of allowing them to take it away from us or not.

We need to let it rule us. 

Read Colossians 3:15

In this verse, Paul says that we are to let Christ rule in our hearts. We can’t have true peace with God if we don’t live in harmony with other believers. It’s not only a matter of having peace with God individually: We are to live in peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Greek word for rule in this passage refers to an official who arbitrates games. Thus, we are to let God’s peace be the referee in our lives and in our relationships.

Read Romans 12:18 and Matthew 5:9

We are to strive to live in peace with everyone. The Lord says that if we embody peace, then we represent Him well.

It is imperative for us to continue to reach out to Christ and not allow anything or anyone to rob us of His peace. We are also to let His peace rule in our hearts and minds.

Can you attest to this in your own life?

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