Worldview people might argue that peace does not start with God. This daily devotional looks at why there is no peace with Satan but there is peace of God – even though peace is not natural for us.
Nuggets
- Whatever peace the worldview thinkers believe they have, it is a false peace.
- In order to gain true peace, we have to know God as He truly is.
- Even though peace is a gift from God, we have to work attain peace.
Devotions in the Peace Leads to Tranquility series
When I was writing the last devotion, we touched on the fact that only true peace comes to God’s people. “… the LORD blesses his people with peace” (Ps. 29: 11 CSB).
I am sure worldview people would beg to differ. I do think that is a true statement.
I wanted us to dig in to prove – or disprove – that statement.
Let's Put It into Context
We’ve talked about peace several times. Peace is an inward tranquility or composure of the mind resulting from a balanced life with spiritual order, equity, and truth.
Glossary
Peace isn’t just the absence of conflict. It is a positive condition.
God wants disciples of Christ to experience peace in the midst of conflict. We can do that when we put our faith and trust in Him.
Why Can’t Satan Give Us Peace?
“For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved” (II Thess. 2: 7-10 NIV)
Many worldview people do not see their actions as sin. If they do, they do not feel they have suffered the consequences for those sins. Instead, they see indications that there is no judgement for their beliefs and actions.
Satan likes it better when worldview people are caught up in sensual and temporary pleasures. In that way, God doesn’t even enter their minds. They think they are good to go.
Boy, does Satan have them snowed!
Whatever peace the worldview thinkers believe they have, it is a false peace. Spurgeon wrote, “When a soul is borne up upon the waters of false peace, its case is hopeless until that peace is dried up, and the soul is stranded in self-despair.”
Resource
Satan isn’t going to give us peace because he is the father of chaos. His goal is to divide people so that they are constantly bickering — or full out fighting.
The goal is not unity because unity fosters peace. Satan would rather see the protests, the debates, and wars so we are too busy to look for God’s peace.
Satan is also the father of lies. That makes him feel like he is in control of us.
One of the biggest lies is that we are not good enough. That has a lot of subsets. We aren’t pretty/handsome enough. We aren’t smart enough. We really don’t fit in with what others think is the norm.
Those lies are not designed to give us peace. They are designed so we are unhappy with ourselves.
They are designed to depress us. They are designed so that we are angry at God for creating us this way — if we feel we are God’s creation, which Satan hopes we don’t. (But he has to cover his bases here.)
Satan is going to not reveal information we need to know. Oh, yeah. That makes us feel like we are not in control.
Satan wants to domineer us. He wants the power. It is another ploy Satan has designed to keep us off balance.
That is the main goal. If we are off balance, Satan assumes we will not be thinking of God. If we think about Him, we might go searching for Him. The next step is finding Him. Satan does not want that to happen.
I’ve always thought it was funny how Satan tries to mimic God. Just as God sent Jesus to this earth to save it, Satan will send the antichrist to ensure its destruction. He even pulled off some miracles (as in Pharaohs’ magicians).
Unfortunately, Satan is just a bad knock-off brand. Following him is not going to lead us to victory and peace.
Peace Comes from Knowing God’s Character
“Come to terms with God and be at peace; in this way good will come to you” (Job 22: 21 CSB)
In order to gain true peace, we have to know God as He truly is. How does God reveal Himself to us to give us His peace?
Wagner argues that many really don’t know God. He wrote, “Many persons assume that they naturally know God; but they do not feel the necessity of going to Scripture to learn the character of God.”
Resource
What that means is they have a head knowledge of God but not a heart knowledge. That is more practical knowledge. They haven’t delved through Scriptures to learn Who He really is.
If we go to Scriptures, we learn that God is love (I Jn. 4: 8). God is peace (Eph. 2: 14).
God wants us to know and believe His true character. He wants us to see His compassion. He wants us to put our trust in Him so we can obtain salvation. He wants us to know Him as He truly is.
Resource
But we’ve said before that just reading the Scriptures isn’t going to give us a full picture of God’s character. He has only put so much into His Word.
We have to know the depths of God’s character. We have to experience Him.
God is going to reveal Himself to us as we grow in His grace and knowledge (II Pet. 3: 18). That means we have to communicate with Him.
That also means listening to God. “Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent” (Ps. 4: 4 NIV).
That doesn’t mean we are to bring God down to our level. We have to remember that He is Sovereign Lord; we aren’t. His ways and thoughts are higher than ours (Isa. 55: 8-9).
Peace Doesn’t Come Naturally
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5: 1 NIV)
Peace isn’t natural for us. Breathing is natural.
Even though peace is a gift from God, we have to work attain peace. It is an attitude we must realize.
But there is also another thing of which we have to be cognizant. As God reveals His higher ways to us, we are going to realize how much more holy God is than we are. We are going to see how lacking we are.
Ooo, baby. That will definitely take away some of our peace. When we realize how our sin has hurt him, it will definitely make us depressed.
That really isn’t what God is about. Yes, He wants us to see the need for salvation. Salvation is deliverance from evil and the consequences of sins to replace them with eternal life and good. Sin is actions by humans that disobey God and break one of His reasonable, holy, and righteous laws and commandments, goes against a purpose He has for us, or follows Satan’s promptings.
But we don’t have to worry. God doesn’t see us as worthless. He sees us as redeemable.
How do we know? “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Rom. 5: 8 NLT).
All we have to do is ABCD. We have to repent of our sins. Repentance is expressing sorrow for breaking God’s laws and commandments by making the commitment to changing ourselves through obedience so that we no longer do the wrong things.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
The most amazing thing is we no longer have to hang our heads because we have been sinners. God wants us to lift our heads and look full on His wonderful face, as the song says.
God wants us to get over the feelings of unworthiness and inadequacy. He wants us to feel the love and joy — and peace — that He wants to give us.
Just because we have been sinners doesn’t mean we have to stay sinners. God wants us to give our lives to Him so He can start us on the Sanctification Road. Sanctification is the transformation of mind, body, and soul beginning with regeneration and ending with perfected state of spiritual wholeness or completeness.
God wants to transform us into people who are holy and righteous. Holy means to be set apart, perfect, and pure. Righteous means we are free from sin because we are following God’s moral laws.
Making the Connections
Satan wants us to use the wrong definition of fear of the Lord. He wants us to have the terror part.
Nalson made an interesting comment. He wrote, “No ideal knowledge can give us either virtue or happiness.”
I can see that. Perfect knowledge doesn’t cut it. I think that goes back to the head knowledge to the heart knowledge.
Peace comes from not only knowing God but also embracing Him. If we embrace Him, we will try to imitate Him. That should lessen the amount of sin in our lives. It is that sin which steals our peace.
Atterbury told us why knowing God is so important. He wrote, “This is the only way to a perfect tranquillity (sic) and rest of mind.”
Resource
There is no other way. But Jesus told us that. “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn. 14: 6 NIV).
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
Yes, you read that right. We have to work to attain peace. It is a gift, but we have to accept it. We also have to prioritize it.
That takes work. That takes self-discipline.
How Do We Apply This?
What I am hearing over and over again so far is that we have to search for and seek God in order to obtain His peace. This isn’t a one-time deal. It is a heartfelt endeavor.
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
Why? Natt said that “We must seek to be at peace with Him, by laying down our rebellion, asking pardon, and imploring the renewing and sanctifying influences of His Holy Spirit.”
Resource
Did you see that?
• Stop sinning
• Ask forgiveness
• Change our character through the influences of His Holy Spirit
Yes, we have to change our character to reflect His character. No, we don’t have to do that by ourselves.
Peace starts with God, not Satan. Nothing in this world can give us true peace. We have to rely on our Heavenly Father to provide it for us.
Then we have to work at it.
Heavenly Father. You are so generous to us. Your love for us is amazing. On top of that, You want to give us Your peace. Help us to look to You for it. May we grow in Your grace and knowledge so that we can attain this peace. Amen.
What do you think?
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