Phil 4:6-7 [NIV]
The Hebrew word;
shalom goes beyond the idea of the absence of war, it connotes a multitude of
meanings, primary of which is completeness.
The verb form of the word (i.e. shalam) is associated with restitution- restoring to a perfect state. So we see from
scriptures:
“...the punishment that brought us peace was upon him [Jesus], and by
his wounds we are healed”. –Isi 53:5
NIV.
In other words the punishment that reconciled (restored)
us back to God was inflicted on Jesus, and on that platform (righteousness) we
are healed.
Even the Greek form
of the word (eirene) derives from the primary verb “eiro” (meaning: to join).
In essence, peace brings us in oneness- perfect soundness with God. In this
state we experience prosperity, sound health, wholeness; basically it qualifies
us to partake in all the divine attributes of God. Again we see from
scriptures;
“The
LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with
peace”
-
Ps 29:11 KJV
It’s
important to note here that, when God blesses us, He empowers us. The Hebrew word for bless (barak) carries a concrete
meaning of presenting a gift of value to
someone while kneeling. In other words humbling oneself in order to empower
someone else with a gift of great value. Notice this was what Jesus did through
the crucifixion:
“And
being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross”. Phil 2:8 KJV
“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”. Jn 14:27 KJV
It’s
also worthy to note that the Greek word ‘aphiemi’ which is translated leave in jn
14:27 carries the same sense as a husband divorcing his wife, also it connotes
to
“go away leaving something behind”[Thayer’s
Greek definitions] as in yield up-
give away. That was what Jesus did before he went to the cross- He blessed us
with His peace, He left peace behind for us; hence He could now suffer the
pains and agonies of the cross because He humbled Himself and became like us,
having now made us like Himself (at peace with God) therefore He said “...Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid”. He made it clear, it was His own peace that He gave
to us, without this it will be impossible for our hearts not to be troubled and
be afraid (we definitely have a lot to worry about!) but He took our place, that’s
why He died.
To
buttress a little more on this: the word peace is found in 400 verses of the
Bible [KJV] and the last verse it was mentioned was Rev 6:4 and in that verse,
peace was taken away from the earth. Mind you in the book of revelations, God’s
wrath was not manifested until after this verse- after peace was taken away
from the earth; so you see it was impossible for Jesus to suffer the agony of
the cross with His peace. (By the way the book of Revelation is actually the
revelation of Jesus Christ. Rev 1:1). Remember Jesus is Immanuel – God with us.
So while He was with His disciples,
He could keep them in peace, but when He was leaving; He left something of
great value with his disciples, just like a father wills off great possessions
to His children- that gift was His
peace.
Therefore:
Be Anxious for
Nothing!
Yes!,
rather “...in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your
requests to God”. Here God is
teaching us how to appropriate and enjoy His peace in our lives. In essence,
instead of worrying about something, I can trust God to handle everything.
Again we see from scriptures:
“Casting
the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your
concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and
cares about you watchfully”
-1Pet
5:7 AMP
I was conversing with
someone sometime ago, and I noticed that she wasn’t looking too happy so I
asked what the problem was, well the long story short was she had lots of very
important things to do within a short while all written down but very few were
done, as I recall the more she tried, the more things didn’t go her way, and the
sadder she became. Well I didn’t know what to say, but I knew God’s Word so I
showed her this same scripture (1Pet 5:7) in the amplified translation and told
her “you may not help thinking about the issues but you ought not to worry
about them because God cares for you affectionately and cares about you
watchfully”, I encouraged her to cast all her anxieties once and for all on God, and then she left. A few hours later I saw
her; this time she was gleeful- all her tasks were accomplished; she went to
the same places, but this time there was an intervention of favour, everything
followed through like clockwork and was done in a very short interval of time.
See, God’s Word is alive and active Hallelujah!
A day after this, I
was travelling somewhere on a bus and I was reading Kenneth E. Hagin’s book “How
you can be led by the Spirit of God”, then I got to the section that he talked
about practicing the Word of God, and He used Phil 4:6 as a case study, and I
remember just meditating over those words before I slept off, by the time I
woke up I discovered that the bus was much emptier, people were screaming, the
driver and the conductor were gone! I heard someone say to get down and run
away but I wondered if I would be going from frying pan to fire, so I stayed
inside the bus (I was confident of God’s protection), soon after, thieves
(about eight of them) entered the bus with a gun and machetes and my God! was
there some beating, things got stolen, properties were littered on the ground,
a lady even got raped another one got injured, one of the people that ran away
was found in the bush and they gave him a bounty of bruises and of course stole
the money he had on him, mean while the place was dark- I hardly could see any
of their faces, it lasted from about 12:05am till about 12:50am, and all I
could remember was that scripture: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in
everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to
God” so I did that even before the thieves came in, I put my fear aside and committed
things to God in prayer, I tell you- thoughts flew through my mind-“will they
shoot?”, “will I get shot?”, “Am I going to survive this?” and so on, but the
peace of God guarded my heart and mind in the midst of all this, even their
punches where like balloons bouncing of me, as if I was surrounded by a shock
absorber, people were running up and down in the bushes, I was resting on the
chair inside, later they left their gun and ran away and we discovered that the
gun was not even loaded, they carried machetes but didn’t use it on anyone.
The testimony is that
there was peace in the midst of the storm; with the tone of anger in those men,
I tell you, if that gun was loaded people would have died that night, but the
bible says:
“When thou
passest through the waters, I [will be] with thee; and through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be
burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee”
-Isi 43:2
KJV
Notice the bible says when not if; the storms
of life come to us all, but just like the fourth man in the furnace, God will
always come to the rescue of His people, as long as they are willing to be
anxious for nothing!
So come dearly beloved, burdened and ladened with
care for there’s rest in Jesus Christ, so cast your cares upon Him once and for
all, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.
“He is our peace”
- Eph 2:14
For those Not sure of their salvation:
You can’t assume it, you can’t fake it, and you
definitely can’t earn it through your good deeds, the truth doesn’t change, it
doesn’t get old and is true whether you believe it or not: Jesus died to offer
you the greatest gift- eternal life, and in this life we have eternal peace.
Just pray this simple prayer with sincerity and
accept this gift of God;
“Father,
today I come as I am: for you said He that comes to You, You will in no wise
cast out; therefore I believe in my heart that You died, were buried and
resurrected for my redemption and justification, and by your finished work, I
stand righteous before God, therefore with my mouth, I confess you as my Lord
and saviour today the [date/month/year] and I am free from sin, sickness, and Satan
and I reign in this life by your grace and have assurance of the life to come
in Jesus precious name. Amen.”
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