Peace on Earth: As the angels sang these words, they announced God’s intentions for the earth – that with the coming of Jesus, Peace had come. Peace was what Jesus purchased for you when He was nailed to the cross. After rising from the dead, Jesus took the general declaration of peace and made it personal when He looked at His disciples and said, “Peace be to you.” Peace: This is who God is. He is the Prince of Peace.
The peace that Jesus purchased for us and imparts to us is not based on feelings that come and go. It’s God’s peace on the inside of you. Peace allows you to sleep through storms or sing when you have been beaten down. Peace allows you to go through the worst yet keep hoping for the best. Internal peace is seen when there are outward circumstances that press a person. Peace and pressure go together; if there is not external pressure you don’t need inward peace.
We are learning that peace isn’t something you get, it’s someone you know – the Lord Himself. This was the revelation, the experience, that Gideon had in Judges 6. May it also be the experience you have today.
But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not Fear; you shall not die.” Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord is Peace. – Judges 6:23-24 ESV
“Peace be to you. Fear not.” His terror started turning into his joy. This divine message and impartation spoke into Gideon’s and our deepest need. He drank in those words like the dry ground drinks water in the summertime. In a moment of spontaneous worship, he built an altar to the Lord, a memorial, and called it “The Lord is Peace.”
Knowing that God called him to war, it seems like he would have named the altar “The Lord Our Warrior.” But no… it is the peace of God that most prepares us for conflict. This was not about making Gideon feel better. The peace of God was giving Gideon more than peace of mind; it was preparing him for battle. As Christ-followers, our feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; that is what makes us ready for the most violent of demonic attacks. We are in the last of the last days, difficult times, with epic spiritual battles going on all around us—days that require us to grow in our experience with peace.
While the Lord comes to speak peace on the inside of our lives, the enemy is always coming to steal that peace. People, social media, your job, or everyday stresses may try to steal your peace at times. But the truth is – the number one peace thief in your life is… you.
It’s who you choose to listen to:
Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea. – Isaiah 48:18 NLT
It’s what you choose to think about:
You keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! – Isaiah 26:3 NLT
…and it’s what you choose tolerate: the pride you allow, the lust you flirt with, the idols you have made out of people, issues, and how much you think you know. It’s slander you allow out of your mouth. It’s the sin you tolerate that will rob you of peace.
For God to continue taking Gideon on this journey of knowing the Lord Who is Peace, He needed to get Gideon to confront what he had been tolerating:
That night the Lord said to Gideon, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one that is seven years old. Pull down your father’s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole standing beside it. Then build an altar to the Lord your God here on this hilltop sanctuary, laying the stones carefully. Sacrifice the bull as a burnt offering on the altar, using as fuel the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down.” – Judges 6:25-26 NLT
Ancient Israel worshiped Baal because he was thought to be the god of weather, and they relied on the weather for prosperity. In the hard economic times due to Midianite oppression, people worshiped Baal all the more, not understanding that they only made things worse by not turning to God. This reminds us that God must be number one.
If you want to experience breakthrough like Gideon did, here are steps you must take to walk in peace:
You must stop walking in sin.
You cannot walk in sin and peace at the same time. Sin will always bring chaos, and it is said that you deserve what you tolerate. If you tolerate sin and disobedience in your life, then you deserve the chaos it will bring.
Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. – Hebrews 12:1 NLT
The sin that is most addressed in the New Testament is the sin we commit against each other:
By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. – James 3:6 MSG
Relationships, even marriages, often end because of things that have been said or not said. By their words, people lose their jobs or reputation, and start arguments or even wars! Harsh, unjust words have destructive power, but we are called to live in harmony and humility:
Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty (snobbish, high-minded, exclusive), but readily adjust yourself to [people, things] and give yourselves to humble tasks. – Romans 12:16 AMPC
We each have to learn to adapt to others and must quit waiting for them to adapt to us. This opens the door to harmony, and where there is harmony, the Lord commands His blessing!
You must demolish every idol.
Gideon was told to tear down the altar of Baal that his father built; this was God’s way of telling Gideon to get his own house in order. God was pointing to the real problem in Israel. More serious than the oppression of the Midianites was their bondage to the spiritual forces of the land. Their biggest threat was not the enemy from outside their land, but the enemy they tolerated within. Today, people fear sickness and possible death from a wicked virus, but the real danger is the wickedness of sin that we must turn away from.
God does not want us to carefully take down our hidden idols of sin; rather He commands that we tear them down. Tear down what is offensive to Him. He is not asking politely that you deal with your pride, He wants you to smash it to pieces. When the Lord shows you an idol, He doesn’t want you to just walk away from it, He wants you to destroy it so there will be no intention of ever going back. It is the raw, bold call to repentance. Every time we submit to these strongholds of bitterness, lust, or pride, we are bowing to the rulers of darkness. Each of these idols must be smashed and obliterated from the landscape of our hearts.
If your life is in need of some renovation, and you know there are some things out of order, there is good news for you! Jesus is drawn to people that know they are out of order, those that are broken in in need of restoration. He says, Come to me and I will give you peace! Peace be to you.
Jesus came for the sick, not the healthy. The church is meant to be filled with a bunch of messed up people that are getting better. The sooner you can humble yourself and admit what a mess you are apart from Jesus, the sooner you can begin to get the help you need. It is taking that step to demolish your idols and leave your old ways behind.
We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. – Ephesians 2:21NLT
Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God. – 2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT
You must pursue holiness.
Beware of fake Christianity that says you can treat somebody like the devil and walk intimately with God at the same time. Holiness is not an optional extra. It is not just for saints and special Christians; it is something we all must aspire to in this life. Some people are eager to do something for God as long as they don’t have to change something for God, but holiness comes before power.
God promises to empower that which He first makes holy.
Soon afterward the armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east formed an alliance against Israel and crossed the Jordan, camping in the valley of Jezreel. Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with power. He blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms. – Judges 6:33-34
You must be filled with the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon. Under the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit came upon specific people usually for divinely empowered leadership. Under the New Covenant, a broad and generous outpouring of the Holy Spirit is promised upon all flesh (see Joel 2:28-29, Acts 2:17-18)—making this power available to you and me today. This power emboldens and helps us to live in peace and draws us toward holiness.
“Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” – Hebrews 12:14-15 NLT
Work at living a holy life! Holiness is developed in secret but seen in public. A life in Christ comes with the call to work at living in peace with EVERYONE. You must forgive repeatedly, overlook faults, see the good, refuse to be critical, bring solutions, be a servant, try to understand more than be understood, and most importantly, you must love.
Holiness involves effort. As Mother Teresa said, “Our progress in holiness depends on God and ourselves – on God’s grace and on our will to be holy.” You can decide to let Jesus make you holy. It’s the difference between those who are merely seeking to be saved and those that are seeking to be more like Jesus. Holiness is seen best in the context of how we treat each other. Hence… make every effort to live at peace with everyone.
“For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.” – Hebrews 10:14 NLT
Beloved, God’s peace is available to you. It is found by knowing the One who is Peace. This holy invitation calls to you today!
DIVE DEEPER:
God’s love comes running after you, even when you’ve been running the wrong way. Just as God pursued Gideon, He is pursuing you today—this is who He is and what He does! How will you respond? Ask yourself these questions… talk to God about them and write them down.
- What are things I’m allowing in my life that rob me of peace? (What I choose to listen to, think about, and the sins I tolerate…)
- What idols do I need to demolish?
- How can I adapt myself to others this week in an effort to live in peace with everyone?
- Holy Spirit, will you help me? Thank you for drawing me close to you today!
In whatever battle you are facing right now, hear this: PEACE BE TO YOU!
