The End Is Peace

"Peace is WHO He is and WHAT He brings when He enters the room."

PEACE IS always God’s desired end. It is WHO He is and WHAT He brings when He enters the room. We’ve gotten this mistaken idea that God’s desire is vengeance, to “get back at” His enemies, when, in fact, His only enemy is death. Death which He will end forever, both on the earth and in hell (1 Corinthians 15:26). And His nature toward all things is mercy. He is merciful. He is far, far above us all, yet He is with us completely and entirely. He pours His goodness out upon us in fullness and surrounds us with His Presence. There is no place where His Spirit does not stand, no words He cannot hear, and nothing He forgets.

“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.” (John 14:27)

“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” (Luke 6:36)

It is our humanness that paints Him incorrectly. Recently, a prophet spoke a word over these United States, a truthful word from God. But because he was loud and his tone was strident, many assumed it to be God’s judgment. God’s judgment, however, is mercy. Just as He enters the room and there is peace, He touches the world and brings forgiveness, lovingkindness, and a gentle Spirit. He is so very, very gentle. So very, very powerful. And it is never misused, never overbearing or arrogant. His hand touches all the broken pieces and causes them to still.

A song I came across speaks of our misunderstanding of the acts of God, in its chorus, saying:

Maybe that mountain saved my heart from a valley
Maybe that desert taught me to pray for rain
Maybe that water never parted for a reason
And You're leading me a better way
(Better Way, The Color)

This is the truth of Him. He knows what is best, and often, what looked to us like the way forward was not the best route. At other times, what looks to us like disaster is actually to our benefit. We must lay down our burden of decision and trust His wisdom. This is what Jesus did. He walked on earth as a man being led of the Holy Spirit in all His choices. Everything He said, everything He did, was God’s will. Because Adam made the wrong decision in the garden, Jesus came to make the right decision. He laid down His will, even to the point of death, and all was remedied.

“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.” (Luke 23:34)

All the violence we’ve attributed to Him comes from our human thinking. The King James Version, though considered accurate, uses older words that create incorrect images of His nature. Mix in our modern way of thought and what church doctrine has decided, and our loving God becomes an axe instead of a gentle whisper. Isn’t this how the Word describes Him? Not as an earthquake, nor a raging fire, but a still small voice (1 Kings 19:12). I made this comment before, but He is quiet, not because He is bringing judgment nor even conviction. He is quiet because He is love. He will not make you feel condemned. He will not speak instead or use another way.

We must realize that no one person has all of the truth correct. Jesus is the only human who knows all things. So, where we place people into categories – saved or unsaved, wrong doctrine or super wrong doctrine, worthless and too far gone or elite – He’s looking at all the intricacies of our hearts. He sees where we are walking upright, where we need softening, where we understand fully and where we don’t. We’re not grouped into good or bad in His eyes, but His love looks for a willing heart. Even an nth offered to Him in the right direction, He will use to bring us closer so that the end of our dilemma, the end of our lives, is peaceful.

What God corrects is to bring peace. What He reveals to us is to give peace. What He brings to an end is to create something more peaceful, something after His heart. The truth, as I have expressed, it rises up in me again. The God of peace sent the Prince of Peace with the gospel of peace the Spirit of Peace so that we’d have peace on earth, goodwill to men. If we have any other vision of Him, we must set it down and seek His face, seeking greater revelation. That is where peace starts in what we’re struggling with. First, we realize our point-of-view is wrong, and then we choose His.

Our emotions lead us astray. The Spirit never will.

“And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;” (Isaiah 32:17-18)

Image by Piyapong Saydaung from Pixabay


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com