The prevailing peace of God is at the heart of every Christian. From it flows the joy of the Lord. Are we experiencing it?

10 The name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

There are lots of good verses on peace. Jesus Himself gave us the best:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27

Paul explained in Romans 5:1-2 that, “since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Did you notice all those key words? Faith, peace, grace, rejoicing and hope. These attributes are at the heart of being a Christian, and peace is one of them. We have a positional peace in that we are positioned in the family of God. But, there is an experiential peace, a dynamic (transformative) peace, that we lose and gain according to our willingness to respond to the Spirit. In this experiential and dynamic peace lies the attainment of the other attributes.

Peace is one of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). We receive peace just as we receive His love and His joy. They are gifts and by-products of being one with the Father through the Son by way of the Holy Spirit. Love, joy, and peace emanate from them and onto us, into us, and through us. They produce a satisfaction like nothing else even while they create a desire to know the Father more deeply. If there is anything mystical about Christianity, here it is: The peace of God that cannot be explained.

Philippians 4:7 is another great verse about peace:

May the calming peace of God that overflows into our lives and transcends all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus–finding our refuge in Him, regarding Him constantly as we walk through our days. (Adapted).

When we have peace, we have peace of mind. Our fears are allayed, and our hearts are at rest. Nothing this world can throw at us can shake us when we are at peace with God and with our fellow man. It allows us to take any abuse, any pain, and even death and turn it into praise. Why? Because we are at complete peace. We trust the LORD. Paul called his trials “light and momentary” (2 Corinthians 4:17). He had his eyes on the future and it gave him peace. We, too, have a wonderful future in store for us, so we, too, can allow it to give us peace.

Last is Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Are you experiencing the peace that passes all understanding? If not, ask our heavenly Father to make Himself real to you. He will through His Word and through His Spirit. Trust Him. He has everything in control. Know this, though: We will never experience the peace of God until we have surrendered to the will of God. Secret sin–any sin– breaks fellowship with Him. Start there.

Abba, thank You for Your peace. The at-rest peace I feel when I am in communion with You far outweighs anything this world has to offer. Nothing touches it–and to think that it just gets better when I go to be with You! Wow!!! May Your love, joy, peace, hope and grace overflow from You to me so that I may overflow to others. Amen.