Peace of God vs. Peace of Man

Although sin was apparent in the world of my youth, it has now become blatantly broadcasted in the world today. More and more I find myself wanting and asking for the peace of God. However, even though I ask for the peace of God, He is showing me that my true desire is for the peace of man.

The peace of man is the deep longing for unwanted circumstances to change. As Webster defines it, “Freedom from disturbance; tranquility.” This kind of peace becomes an endless and futile pursuit of attempting to change situations around me that I have no control over. Prayer becomes a cry of “make it go away, make it stop!” Then, my eyes become fixed on my situations to see the outcome and if God is really listening and working. The problem with this is that from this myopic viewpoint, doubt can begin trickling in and soon creates a flood of emotions and emotional thinking. Belief in God becomes grounded more on what is felt now rather than what is and has been known for eternity.

Thankfully, my loving Heavenly Father is showing me what His true peace is. The peace of God is a true change of heart. Again, Webster’s definition is, “The peace of heart which is a gift of God”! This gift is found in the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit! When Christ was telling His disciples about the promise of the Holy Spirit in John 14:27, He said:  27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [1] We as believers do not need to live in the emotional turmoil of fear and hurt. We can find true comfort in the peace of God!

Our focus needs to be on our Savior and not our circumstances. It truly is a heart issue, a matter of trust. As Isaiah wrote in chapter 26 verse 3: You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. [2] Sin has inflicted upon each of us a form of spiritual attention deficit disorder. We can easily be distracted by the happenings around us over the one who is within us. The issue is that Jesus can still be in our peripheral vision, but He is not the focus of our attention. Through this, the enemy can begin to fan the flames of confusion. This is why we need to be taking in God’s word daily and having times of Corporate Worship that is orderly and biblically correct. When we do this, it lessens the grip of confusion and brings about the Peace of God. As Paul wrote in I Corinthians 14:33: 33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. [3]
 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. [4] The only healing from spiritual ADD is to reject the peace of man, which is temporary, and be enveloped in and trust in the peace of God, which is eternal.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jn 14:27.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Is 26:3.
[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Co 14:33.
[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Php 4:7.