The Magnetic Peace of God

I awakened in the middle of the night and turned over in bed. I was now facing in Jan’s direction. Like I do many times in the middle of the night, I took a moment to pray for her before slipping back to sleep. Jan was sleeping so deep and in such peace that she seemed dead. I could hear no breathing. She was completely zonked.

After a few moments of prayer, I actually slipped my hand over to her side of the bed to touch her. Whew! She was warm and rustled at my touch. I had an alive wife! When we awakened, I told Jan the story and we both laughed.

I was about to tuck the story away in our funny marriage story file when the Lord reminded me it was a living metaphor for what He wanted to say to some of us.

There is a level of peace that a believer can possess that is so profound and so deep that to the frenetic world it may appear as though we are dead. Just like I did when I reached out to touch Jan, “just to make sure”, the world will actually reach toward a believer who carries this kind of peace to see if it is real, and even possible.

The peace of God produces deep forms of rest. Rest about the past. Rest about the future and rest about a current problem that does not go away. Like rest, peace is both a weapon and a refuge. It can create a perimeter strong enough to hold off the attacks of the enemy. Its encampment becomes the only place where deep rest amidst conflict is found. But there is more. 

Peace is actually a form of evangelism. People overtaken with the stress and worry of life will be drawn to the peace you carry. God has designed you to carry His peace to such a degree that you will appear dead to the surrounding stimuli of the world that robs so many of the rest God intends for all His creation. Be at peace. It is your calling.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4: 6-7).