God's Peace

The following devotion was shared by a staff member at our meeting this morning.  It comes from the book Daily Grace: Devotional Reflections to Nourish Your Soul (Bordon Books, 2005)

"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways." (Second Thessalonians 3:16)

It Is Divine

by John MacArthur Jr.

To put it simply, peace is an attribute of God. If I asked you to list the attributes of God, these are the ones that would probably come most readily to mind: His love, grace, mercy, justice, holiness, wisdom, truth, omnipotence, immutability, and immortality. But do you ever think of God as being characterized by peace? In fact, He is peace. Whatever it is that He gives us, He has and He is. There is no lack of perfect peace in His being. God is never stressed. He never fears. God is never at cross—purposes with himself. He never has problems making up His mind.

God lives in perfect calm and contentment. Why? Because He’s in charge of everything and can operate everything perfectly according to His own will. Since He is omniscient, He is never surprised. There are no threats to His omnipotence. There is no possible sin that can stain His holiness. Even His wrath is clear, controlled, and confident.There is no regret in His mind, for He has never done, said, or thought anything that He would change in any way.

God enjoys perfect harmony within Himself. Our Bibles call Him “the Lord of peace,” but in the Greek text a definite article appears before the word translated “peace,” meaning He literally is ‘the Lord of the peace,” This is real peace— the divine kind—not the kind the world has. Paul’s prayer is that we might experience that kind of peace. Its source is God and God alone.

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HEAVENLY FATHER: I need your peace in my life. I need your calm, your serenity, your contentment. I want to experience perfect harmony. I ask you to pour out your grace on me, Lord — your grace and your peace. Amen

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This scriptural thought could not have come at a better time.  All praise to you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  You do know what you are doing.  Though you allow us to exercise our free will, often in ways that are harmful, in the end, finally, ultimately, you are in control.

Today, I will rest in that peace.

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