Embracing the Peace of God 
by Dr. John Tetsola

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Romans 8:14

This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.
II Corinthians 13:1

One of God's guidance systems is His peace. However, never forget that you cannot just go by the peace of God alone to be led. You have to have at least two or more witnesses before God's leading is established. You are going to make a mistake if you just take one element of guidance to the exclusion of the others. God says get two or three of them to agree at a minimum on a major decision before you move. If you do, you will move safely, you will move with protection and there will be no fatal consequences to you at all. Where most believers make mistakes is taking just one of these channels of leading or guidance to an extreme and excluding the other guidance principles or channels of leading.

That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 

But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Ephesians 2:12-14

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
Colossians 1:21

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Colossians 3:15

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Romans 5:1

There are two kinds of peace mentioned in Scripture. There is the peace with God and there is the peace of God. The peace with God is the benefit, the privilege and the gift of every one who has accepted Jesus Christ as his or her personal Savior. Peace with God is your benefit. Before we became Christians, we were enemies of God. We did not think like Him or act like Him. We were self-seeking. Our salvation is the result of Christ dying on the Cross, taking the sentence of death in His own flesh for our sins and redeeming us. Jesus said, "It is finished." God is satisfied with what Jesus did. If you accept what Jesus did, He will put you in Christ legally. This gives us peace with God. 

Now the other concept of peace is the peace of God. Peace with God is salvation, and peace with God makes possible the peace of God inside the believer. The peace of God becomes a guidance system for those at peace with God. It can guide you in decisions, directions for your life and relationships.

For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Romans 14:17

In the kingdom of God comes righteousness, which is the peace with God through the blood of Jesus Christ. There comes with that the peace of God, and with the peace of God comes joy in the Holy Spirit. When you don' t have joy, look for the place where you lost your peace. Joy is the byproduct of the kingdom of God. If you are missing joy, somewhere you are missing the kingdom- in your marriage, your life and in your walk with God. One of the best witnesses we have to the world is joy and the second is peace. The world is always looking for joy and for peace. You cannot have joy until you have peace, and you cannot have peace until you have righteousness, which is the peace with God. Only then can you have the peace of God.

The peace of God is to rule in our hearts. The Greek word here for "rule" is the word for umpire, referee or to govern. It is the referee that judges to see if things are done right in a game, whether a baseball game, a football game or a basketball game. The umpire or the referee makes the call of the play. God wants you to listen to the Holy Spirit, who brings peace to your heart, and let Him become the umpire to call the balls and the strikes of your life. If He says safe, you can walk with confidence in what you are about to enter, knowing He is with you.

If the Holy Spirit is calling the situations and decisions that you are about to make or are making "out," and that you are not to press through, you are to let Him umpire or referee your life. It is a guidance system to protect you and not to put you in bondage, but instead to keep you out of bondage. The word "peace" comes from the Greek word "IREI." That is where we get the name Irene. It means in Greek "to join, to come into harmony or accord or agreement." The Hebrew word for peace is "SHALOM." This word carries a much greater and detailed meaning. In the Hebrew it is more than just the absence of strife. It means prosperity, happiness, success, security and safety. God wants these working in our lives.

Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
Romans 14:19

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Hebrews 12:14 

The Scripture says here that we should follow after those things that make for peace. What are those things? Harmony, security, prosperity, success and safety. God wants us to walk on these paths. When we follow peace, these are the paths we are following. In Hebrews 12 it says, "Follow peace with all men." Not just good men, all men. Not just the ones we like. 

Satan has two weapons. The first is deception. The second is accusation. He will try to deceive you to feel good about that wrong decision you are about to make. Then when you do it, you lose your peace, and he accuses you. It is really double jeopardy. He sets you up through deception to do something wrong, then he accuses you for doing it. He will accuse you through the brethren. He will work in the Body of Christ through people, through the phone lines with murmuring and gossiping to create strife, confusion and accusations. Why? To rob you of your peace. He wants us to play into his hands no matter how well we were taught. You have to keep your righteousness intact. If the devil can shake your righteousness, you can lose your peace. The devil can rob the peace of God from a believer, but he cannot rob the peace with God from a believer, because Jesus accomplished it for us by His blood. The peace of God is only enjoyed as long as we are still before Him. We must shut out unbelief, strife, confusion and the world because God works in an atmosphere of peace.

The Reward for the Peace of God 

There are three things the peace of God will do for you when you begin to walk in it. First, the peace of God will guide you. Second, the peace of God will govern and the peace of God will guard. In Romans 14:19, it says follow peace. In any decision, in any relationship or in any business deal, follow peace. If you are not feeling the peace, get off the road. You are on a wrong road. Peace is an umpire and it is to guide you into righteousness. We don't know everything, but the Holy Spirit does and we need to learn to obey the instructions that He has placed in us to navigate us.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Colossians 3:15

Second, the peace of God governs. In the above Scripture, it says let the peace of God rule or govern. God knows things that we don't know and He uses His peace to govern us. 

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Philippians 4:6

Finally, the peace of God is a guard. In the above Scripture it says that the peace of God will guard, surround, and protect your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. A strong warning is, be careful not to run through any stop signs of the peace of God. Obey it and let God have His way in your life.

And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.
I Samuel 10:8 

And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven. 

When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. 

And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. 

And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. 

And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. 

And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. 

And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash;
I Samuel 13:5-11

Here in the Scripture, Saul was made the king of Israel. Samuel the prophet told him to wait seven days until he returned and he would offer to the Lord a sacrifice before they went into battle. Seven days went by, Samuel had not shown up and Saul was getting nervous. Stress was coming on him. He saw the enemy gathering, people joining other churches, and Samuel had not shown up. He got nervous and he violated the law of God which says only the priests can offer a sacrifice to the Lord. He did it under pressure and his peace was gone. He knew he was not supposed to do it and he violated his peace. As soon as he did it, Samuel showed up. Here is what Saul said to Samuel, "You did not come. The people were leaving. The enemy was gathering and I forced myself to make the offering." What does that mean? He violated the peace of God in his heart and he knew he was not supposed to do it. He should have said "I don't know God's plan, but I know that I am under authority. I don't know why Samuel has not shown up, but I am going to wait for God." There are many of us that will stand before choices and if we violate the peace of God, like Saul we will lose the kingdom. In the new covenant, the kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy.

By Dr. John A. Tetsola