There is a difference between having peace with God and having the peace of God.
“A mind at peace does not engender wars.” ~Sophocles
“When your mind is at peace, your soul can sit down on the inside.” ~Sophomore Cleve
At our born-again salvation experience we found peace with God. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Peace with God is our permanent inheritance.
But the peace of God is something different. It is something that can come and go. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You (God) keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Shalom, the peace of God, is formed in the mind of the person who leans, or rests, on God. Here’s how a Jewish mind translates this verse, “A person whose desire rests on You, You preserve in perfect peace, because he trusts in You.” The word “desire” is the Hebrew word that means something like, “mental framework.” It is also a word that refers to the forming of the clay by a potter. Thus, when you form your mind, like a potter forms the clay, to lean and rest on God, then you will have peace
I recently read about an ancient Buddhist fable about two monks who come upon a woman at the edge of a river. She was a dainty and pretty thing, but not strong enough to cross the river on her own. One of the monks picks her up, cradles her in his bosom, and carries her across to the other side, as the second monk walked behind. After he sets her down on dry land they continue on their way. Several miles of silence was broken when the second monk turns to the first and says, “How could you do that? We have made vows never to touch a woman!” The first monk looks serenely at him. “I set her down back at the edge of the river. You’re not still carrying her are you?”
This is exactly what our minds do. We are journeying through life perfectly fine and peaceful, until conflict arises in our mind, until a lust arises in our mind. We are lied to. We are accused. We are tormented when our fantasy and pleasure become concupiscence.
I had a nemesis in high school who used to torture me. He would intimidate me one day, steal my pen another day, ask for money aggressively in the locker room. His intimidation was constant and nerve-wracking. I had fantasies of hurting him in my mind. A permanent kind of hurt, you know.
Four years later in college, I remember sitting at my desk reading Kierkegaard, and I would think back to this personality from high school. I would remember his irritations, and I would take up all the torment in my mind, again. I couldn’t concentrate on my reading. My hands would start sweating. I would get so mentally absorbed in my thoughts of this old upset, that it would take over my brain. I can remember getting up from the desk to walk around, to distract my mind out of the torture.
We lose our peace of God when we carry our upsets with us long after the original cause is over. Or we can even lose our peace of mind when we pick up imaginary burdens from a future that may never come.
The enemy wants to malform your mind with lies and accusations. He will rob your peace of mind with fear and failure. He will bring up the past and accuse you. He will remind you of your past and perpetuate the lie you bought back then. So, get rid of his accusations. Cast out the lies. And you do this when you stop to “lean” on the Holy Spirit’s voice. Ask Him, “Am I believing a lie right now? Am I listening to an enemy voice of fear? of accusation? Am I allowing an old torturous memory to rent out my mind, again? Is this a place where I need more healing?”
Then listen to His word to you. Listen and hear. Then renounce the lies. Say, “I renounce that lie, and I reject it from my mind.” Take authority. Cast it to the ground. Deal with any “unfinished business” in healing prayer.
Then your mind can return to the presence of God. You will enter, again, into His rest (Heb 4:9-10).
Then your soul can sit down on the inside.
-Carter