Peace in the heart is a state of inner rest, quietness of soul, tranquility, and an awareness of being safe. There are various sources from which such a state may be attained, and peace itself may be either temporary or lasting. Its stability depends directly on the foundation upon which it rests.
The finest example of peace can be seen in children who are not burdened with the cares of this world but are busy discovering the world around them and have loving parents. An infant in its mother’s arms is a symbol of that very peace which each of us tasted from birth and therefore understands inwardly.
But we grow, and the older we become, the more cares we acquire. Eventually we realize that this peace of heart has been lost, and anxiety, worry, dissatisfaction, and fear enter our lives. If my life is being lived in sin, this condition only becomes worse.
The next brick in our little house of happiness is called ‘I am a peacemaker.’
In Matthew 5:9 we read: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.’ The Lord Himself calls such a state of soul blessedness, and He calls those who live this way the children of God. In the preceding chapters, we studied the brick called ‘I belong to God,’ and now we have come to the qualities of soul possessed by a person who belongs to God.
The very word peacemaker tells us that such a person is interested in resolving matters peacefully, both within himself and in his relationships with those around him.
In Russian, the word peace has many meanings in the spiritual context. It can also mean the absence of armed conflict, a truce between opposing sides, the absence of war, tolerance between adversaries, and similar things.
But in the light of Christ’s teaching, we see that He is speaking about the state of a person’s soul. If the heart has no living connection with God, it cannot possess the true peace that Jesus means in His description of blessedness.
I have God’s peace, and I understand what it is. I know the Source of this condition and the principles by which it operates.
For me personally, a peaceful state of soul is God’s barometer, which shows me very clearly the shortcomings, sins, and problems that arise in my life.
God did not intend a happy and blessed life for a sinner who is unwilling to change his condition. Sin brings the soul painful suffering and pangs of conscience; a person loses peace and begins searching for a way out.
The enemy of souls has many counterfeits and substitutes in his arsenal. They closely resemble the original and can even provide temporary comfort and pleasure: relaxation techniques, alcohol, drugs, sex, extreme experiences, medication, and the pursuit of supernatural knowledge. But these things draw the soul into slavery to sin and make it dependent upon Satan’s services. As a result, a person begins to suffer mental disorders, illness, and anguish. Many come to realize that such a life is unbearably hard and decide to end it forever.
But God has a plan to bring the soul back to pure springs and to perfect peace, in which a person finds true happiness.
The peace of God is the result of my relationship with God; it is a reward from the Lord for my labor. It is an adornment of my life that I alone can behold. No one but me can fully understand and appreciate peace with God, because it is my personal, inward participation in God’s plan for my salvation.
A peacemaker is someone who creates peace in his own heart, in his home, and among those around him. He does not settle down or give up until he reaches his intended goal. Knowing God and having a personal relationship with Him give me the right to possess God’s peace, which produces rest within me and gives me the authority and wisdom to tell others how this state may be attained and Who gives this blessedness to the soul.
God is called our Heavenly Father, and by this He helps me understand that I am His son, that I am not a stranger to Him but His own child, for whom He cares with the love of a tender Parent. The Lord also compares Himself to a mother, saying that He is better, more faithful, more tender, and will never forsake His children. Such knowledge gives me confidence that I am under special protection and in the safest of hands. My security depends less on how firmly I hold on to God and His hand than on how firmly He holds me.
My strength may fail, my faith may waver, and my interests may change, but God’s faithfulness remains constant, and His love for me is unchanging.
As a result of wrong decisions or actions, I lose peace in my heart, because the Lord does not want me to be at peace with Him while I am following the wrong path. This is His way of influencing my conscience and communicating with my mind. But if my conscience becomes hardened, my ears cease to hear this Voice, and I become satisfied with a counterfeit.
Satan has mastered the art of replacing true values with false ones. He even uses religious experiences to give temporary comfort to deceived souls. But if God’s law, written by God’s hand, is not in a person’s heart, there can be no true peace. The soul is in opposition to Christ and will never be able to win that battle.
A victor’s peace is a familiar arrangement in society in which the winning side establishes its own order and laws and maintains them through superiority and force, dictating its will to the defeated side.
God could very quickly overcome all His enemies and impose His rules and order upon them. But love employs a different approach: when it conquers the heart, it gives that heart freedom to choose and decide, offering itself and its advantages.
Peace with God and peace in the heart are the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Together with the other qualities of God’s grace, this fruit shapes my inward character and brings true blessedness to the soul. Unlike the other bricks of happiness, which I can produce through my decisions, choices, and actions, the material called ‘I am a peacemaker’ is the result of all the other components being present in my structure. It cannot rest peacefully in its place within my walls if a breach has appeared in them. It immediately sounds the alarm and signals that trouble has come, that a deadly danger to my happiness has arisen, and that another spirit has entered the house. When I examine my heart deeply, I quickly find the cause and, with God’s help, correct the problem.
I am a peacemaker. This is a character formed in God’s image, and its result is order in my house, because everything is brought into harmony with the will of the Most High and into accord with His expectations.
The enemy of souls has distorted this name by applying it to those who, armed with weapons or the authority to destroy, are ready to eliminate anyone who intensifies a conflict or disturbs the peace. Those are not the people meant here.
God’s peacemaker is one who lives at peace with God and studies His will in order to make it part of his being, adorn his life with it, fill his free time with it, and share this light with others. This is oil for the lamp in the last days, which will sustain the light and keep it from going out.
Bible verses for this chapter:
Psalm 119:165; Matthew 5:9; Philippians 4:6–7; Colossians 3:14–15; John 14:27; Galatians 5:22–23; Isaiah 48:18–19; 57:19–21; Psalm 34:14; 37:11; 85:10; 132:6–9; Romans 15:13, 33; 1 Corinthians 14:33; 2 Corinthians 13:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:23