THE BLESSING OF PEACE

“The LORD will give strength to His people; the LORD will BLESS His people with PEACE” – Psalm 29:11

In the midst of the world’s storms, turmoil, and troubles, God assures us of the BLESSING of PEACE: “…the LORD will BLESS His people with PEACE” (Psa.29:11). Peace is the tranquil rest of the soul amidst surrounding turbulence; quiet confidence of the heart that is anchored on God amidst the stormy winds of the darkest night. In the face of the confusion, fear, anxieties and perplexities, God wants to demonstrate His Peace in our hearts and lives: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isa.26:3). Perfect Peace is possible, when your mind is focused and your trust is fixed on God!

Psalm 29 reveals how the Peace of God rules over the waters, forests, fires, and wildernesses of this world. The Lord is more than able to bless us with peace because to Him belongs “glory and strength” and His voice commands thunderous dominion “over the waters” – the marine creation (v.1,3). Next, His powerful and fully majestic voice commands the destiny of terrestrial nature, symbolised by the “cedars of Lebanon” that are broken and caused to skip like a calf (v.4-6). In addition, “the voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire” and “shakes the wilderness” (v.7-8); it makes “the deer give birth, and strips the forests bare” (v.9). Verse 10 caps up the proclamation: “The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood” (v.10).

The crux of Psalm 29 is that no condition or situation in creation can stop God from blessing His people with peace. By inference, nothing can hinder or stop the child of God from receiving and enjoying “the peace of which passes all understanding” (Phil.4:7). God will put floods and fires to shame in order to bless His people: “When you pass through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scotch you” (Isa.43:2).

The Peace of God manifests in diverse dimensions in our lives and destinies. Here are three crucial faces of the Blessing of Peace:

Thoughts of Peace: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, THOUGHTS of PEACE and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer.29:11). God thinks Peace; and He can pervade and saturate our thoughts with His thoughts of peace, so powerfully that all threats are quietened and fear is utterly defeated and put to flight.

Proclamations of Peace: “I will hear what the LORD will speak, for He will SPEAK PEACE unto His people and to His saints: but let them not turn back to folly” (Psa.85:8). God is always speaking peace to His people. Are we really listening to hear His Voice of Peace? In these days of information overload, via social media, the devil and his cohorts have gone hyperactive in disseminating confusion, deception, falsehood, and fear. But God says: “…“Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’ concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; let Him be your fear, and let Him be you dread” (Isa.8:12-13). It is unfortunate that many Christians have their ears closer to Satan’s drums of doom, and have become echoes of falsehood and fear, instead of being amplifiers of the Proclamations of Peace!

The Rule of Peace: “And let the PEACE of GOD RULE in your hearts, to the which also you were called in one body; and be thankful”(Col.3:15). God designed His Peace to rule within and without our hearts. His peace is available to govern our hearts and minds; over our homes; and over the nations: “Of the increase of His Government and PEACE there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice…(Isa.9:7a).

“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you PEACE” (Num.6:24-26). Shalom!