As stated in the last post: Within the next few posts I plan to demonstrate the indicators of someone who is “Walking in The Spirit”. Our first indicator is: The Peace Of Jesus
The concept of ‘peace’ has been twisted. The absence or presence of peace is often the first indication that the Holy Spirit is up to something. But people have abused this word peace. First, Peace is a fruit or manifestation of the Spirit. Not an emotion or feeling. It is Him expressing Himself to and through us, supernaturally. God is supernatural is He not? Is there anything humanly natural about Him? No. Supernatural by definition means: not humanly natural or supra-human. Above and ahead of. Many times we can’t humanly or naturally explain why we have no peace. The thing or deal can be reasonable but we have no clear peace. This is when we should stop and pay attention. And other times it can seem inconceivable or illogical and yet have perfect peace. This also should be noted. Someone on the inside says No or Go perhaps. Perhaps you are involved in something or with someone which would not violate any conscience decision or principle personally, yet have no peace. Once we decide to wait and let God handle it, His peace is demonstrated. Peace is a difficult concept to define. But it’s easy to identify its absence. Like joy, it goes beyond mere emotion. And obviously transcends circumstances. It is knowing everything is going to be ok when everything presently isn’t really alright.
Peace = Inner settledness.Paul targets it… “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding…” (Philippians 4.7a). Both the presence and absence of peace oftentimes do not make sense, humanly speaking. Peace that defies human comprehension. This is because of its super-natural nature from the Holy Spirit.
We need a heightened sensitivity and awareness to peace. Peace as administered through the Holy Spirit, assures us that we are in step with God’s will for our lives. Philippians 4.6-7— “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Basically: Don’t worry — Pray!
This is the cure for anxiety as every believer should be reminded of constantly. It is also the answer of inner peace from the Holy Spirit. According to this, even before our prayers are answered, there is peace. Before we have any idea howthings will work out, there is peace. There is the difference! It is not peace from God only when we have it worked out or worked out our way. It is peace even if it isn’t worked out at all. Basically here are the steps:
- We cry out to God and unload our cares and burdens on Him
- He is assured on our dependence on Him (which is His priority in this relationship)
- He assures us.
This peace acts as a guard. Philippians 4.7 says— “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” The picture of peace here in Philippians is that of a soldier guarding our hearts, emotions, and minds. The Holy Spirit gives the ‘go ahead’ about something, that from a purely circumstantial perspective, makes no sense at all. He also informs us of influences. When wrong influences tamper with our emotions and minds, He informs us through a sense of hesitancy. We then lose our peace. Something is not right! Even when you can’t put your finger on it, something is just not right here. When talking to people; there are times when something happens inside of us. I call it a ‘check’in my spirit. Something has made me lose my peace. The Holy Spirit is guarding my mind against error, deception, or perhaps a distortion of the facts. Sad thing is, many believers today do not have any peace most of the time and usually walk right over their conscience multiple times a day. This is a result of ignoring or “quenching” the Holy Spirit. This distorts our ability to recognize the checkof the Holy Spirit and robs yourself of spiritual discernment. Which results in a christian who has no recourse but to depend on self, circumstances, intellect, feelings, and others to discern with. This is the flesh. And as Paul said in another passage “of the baser sort”. This has become common today. And yet should never be so.
Why would God let me do that? As much as God loves us and wants to keep us out of trouble, He is not going to violate our free will and force us to do the right thing. Therefore it is vital that we develop a moment-by-moment sensitivity to the presence and absence of God’s peace in our lives. How? It is like learning a foreign language: there is a process.
First is exposure to learning. When I was in High School I was required to learn a foreign language. In reality, I was required to ‘take’ the class rather than learn the language. I chose Spanish. I found the more time you spend in the language, the more familiar you are with it. The same is true in learning the voice of the Holy Spirit. The more you listen, and the more you determine to obey, the more familiar you will become with Him. You will be able to distinguish His voice over the others that vie for your attention. You can’t just ‘take a class’ on the Holy Spirit. This goes beyond the knowledge-of and recall-of a subject. Our test is faithfulness in this life and passing is essential.
The next phase is: immersion. The best way to learn a foreign language is by immersion. Separate yourself and dive in. Speak nothing but that language and it will become second nature. I began to converse and understand nuances after I lived in a foreign country for three months. I could order food, make purchases, travel, and find the bathroom. I have also discovered this in the Spirit-filled life as well. When I cannot discern which voice is which, I need to separate myself and immerse myself in the Lord. Get alone! Fast! Separate! It is essential and practiced by Jesus throughout His earthly ministry. By doing so I can regain the ground lost in my spiritual discernment. Wait, you can lose it? Yes. You see, the reverse can be true. Use it or lose it! You can un-tune an ear. The less I use Spanish the less I can understand. The less comfortable I am speaking and eventually not know what exactly is being said. Same is true for believers. Their ear is tune-able and un-tune-able. Our spiritual discernment is critical and the definition of faith. Hebrews 11.6— “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
We cannot please the One we are to love the most, without faith. We cannot spiritually discern without time alone with God. Or as Hebrews said here: “diligently seek him”. It is not that diligent if we do it as a side operation. You may need to stop and seek Him out closer and more diligently. You may also need to hit the reset button.
Have you noticed that we see what we are looking for. The question is— What are you looking for?Whatever it is, you are most likely to find. You begin looking for the Spirit of God when you begin tuning into the presence or absence of His peace. When you do, you will be overwhelmed by the consistency of His presence. You will be amazed at His willingness to lead. You will be assured of the love He has for you and your love for Him will increase.
Don’t violate that! Don’t let circumstances or people violate that! Or you will be a person looking for human peace without Jesus. And that is not what He said in John 14.27— “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” The World’s peace is determined by how it works out for them. It is selfish. It is based upon circumstances and feelings. It is emotional and opinion-based. Not Jesus’ peace— It is a giftand can only be robed… by us.
That is Jesus-Peace. Do you want some?