And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through the Messiah, Yashua. Philippians 4:8
The peace of God! Very few ever experience it because very few meditate on the things of God, instead they spend their time on social media, in bars, in church and maybe the bible. But they do not spend time alone with God to know him and understand him and what he wants and expects of us.
When Yashua entered Jerusalem for the last time, and everyone was shouting for him, “Hosanna in the highest.” Yashua said, “oh Jerusalem if you only knew what makes for your peace.” The thing is you will never know the true peace of God until you know God. Not a God based on what you hear from other people or read about in a book. But when you know God, that is the hearing and obeying of his voice spoken or whispered into your ear which leads you into all righteousness and understanding.
You cannot have peace without understanding, and even if you are one of the few who know God and hear him does not mean you have received the full understanding. I really do not think it is possible to come to that place in this lifetime where you fully understand it all, we are always learning and growing, sometimes relearning a lesson or two.
Many times I reminded about the story of Job, and how as a righteous man God still allowed him to be tested in a big and difficult way. But it was through that testing that he was able to say truthfully, “Now I see God!”
We get so caught up in our ideas of God which is based on what we hear from other people or how we interpret what we read in the bible or other books about God. So we get the wrong idea of what God is really about and after. Job knew God and had a basic understanding of what God expected of him and he did that to a high level. But when the real test came, and Job really dug deeper to figure out his trials and what was happening to him.
I understand Job, I lived his life, losing everything including my wife and kids and self-respect. This morning when working out I was reflecting back on life, something the Lord was showing me. And then made the point to me about all the things I have overcome in my life. And then he showed me other people who had similar or less to overcome and how they are in worst shape than before.
It is not about trading war wound stories, we all have things to overcome in our life, real trials and problems. But the thing of it is, we do not like the trials and tribulations and we find ourselves people who give us some short term fake peace, make it sound like it is of God and get in the way of what God is doing in that person’s life. Which we think we are doing good by God but are doing the opposite and God will hold you accountable. This is something the Lord has shown me a lot lately, about getting in the way of God in the name of God when you do not know what he wants, but think you do because it is what you would expect someone to do for you. We can even quote bible verses like “do onto others what you would have them do unto you.”
Paul continues with verses 8 y 9 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”
When Paul sp0eaks of mediating on these things, the meditation is not like that of the Buddhist. It is to sit back in your quiet place and let the Lord show you these things.
So to bring this all together, the peace that surpasses all understanding cannot be had by avoiding pain and suffering, avoiding trials and tribulations. It is the opposite, it is the thing about going through these and having the ropes tied around you burned off when thrown in the fire heated seven times hotter. Coming out with not even a hair fringed or the smell of smoke on you. Each trial brings growth and strength in the ways of Yashua. This growth and strength is what brings the peace.
Real peace, real love is obtained through the suffering, not by trying to stop the suffering or minimalizing its impact on you. Human nature wants the opposite, to avoid pain and suffering, and most do whatever they can to avoid it or eliminate it in their lives. The interesting thing to me is I embrace it when it comes. Not that I like the stress and strain the Lord puts me through in the suffering, no one would like it. But after all these years of really knowing the Lord because he allowed some serious suffering in my life to happen. And knowing the suffering produced for me a glory that far outweighs it all, every time. And that I stopped believing the lies of the church system and stopped looking for help from other men when the trials come. I can honestly say I embrace the suffering when it comes, because I know it is short term to give me knowledge and understanding at a higher level of God himself. And as I come to know him like this, then his gifts of the Spirit also come, all of them including his amazing peace.
But as always this means you remain in the Messiah, listen to him and obey him no matter how difficult it sounds. Never give into anyone else or the world and its lies. Because the world will tell you what you are following and doing in the Lord is the lie, when it is the solution. And it is easy to fool even the elect if it were possible. There are many good arguments out there against the will of God and his strong hand to make you think maybe you are wrong with what you heard the Lord to tell you to do. And maybe sometimes you heard wrong or it was satan clothing himself in light. If you feel this way, double check and see what the Spirit is saying. But also remember that almost everything the Lord will send your way and tell you to do will go against the beliefs of the world. So if a man of the world, including preachers tell you something about how to do something or try to take away some pain and suffering, it is obvious they are the ones wrong when it seems they should be right.
