360 Degree Peace

UV 1595/10000 360 Degree Peace
And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.

Leviticus 26 v 6

Today, though the world is lacking in peace and security, the Lord assures His own of complete peace and security such that we will have peace in our homes and a sense of security. No one can make us afraid. He will protect us from violence and evil beasts which is a metaphor for those who are wicked and violent. The peace that God gives us in Christ Jesus is beyond human understanding and comprehension. It cannot be taken away by anyone. He will give us peace-hence, peace comes as a gift from the Lord. He will enable us to sleep peacefully. He protects us from every curse and penalty of sin in the course of our lives on earth and even beyond. He gives us the Redeemer’s peace: the fact that we need a redeemer is an acknowledgement that part of our souls and lives were once pledged or mortgaged to the enemy. We had to be bought back or won back paying a heavy price.

He will give us peace all around- or 360 degree peace. Our hearts will not be troubled by anything in our past, present or future. We will not yield to worry or anxiety but rest all our fears in the Lord knowing that He is both willing and able to deal with every fear, worry or anxiety. When we take responsibility for all aspects of our lives, we are trying to play God. We do not have complete knowledge or ability. If we entrust the matter to the Lord, He will resolve it effectively in His time.

The starting point or genesis of our peace is that Jesus gives us inner peace with God – He reconciles us with Him and hence, our relationship with the Father is the source of our strength, our resources and our solutions to the issues of life. The Father is the God of peace. He makes a covenant of peace with us. He is with us and therefore, wherever we are and in whatever situation, we have peace and security. He preserves us from death and destruction, from disasters and losses. As we have inner peace, it should be reflected in our peace with others around us: we need to do our best to be at peace with all the people we encounter in our lives. "Peace in the land" implies that we will enjoy the fruit of our labour and we will not be overtaken by rude surprises or overcome by shocks. We will be hearers of good news and not bad news. We will be positive minded and enjoy the blessings of the Lord. In order to grasp the value of such 360 degree peace, we just have to visualise the suffering of millions of refugees fleeing from the cauldron of unrest and strife in Syria and Iraq. They have no peace in the land, or peace in their homes or hearts.

Prateep V Philip