The God of Peace – Pastor Taiwo Odukoya

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Thess. 5:23

Peace is of two kinds: the one you get from worldly sources and the one that comes from God, The import of the scripture above is that when the God – who is the God of peace – sanctifies you completely, He will set you apart and isolate you from the troubles of the world with His peace. In other words, this passage is actually praying that, may the God of peace sanctify you completely; may His peace isolate you spiritually, emotionally and physically. May you enjoy a dimension of peace that only heaven can give in all the facets of your life. That is what you get from being sanctified by the peace of God.

Jesus, affirming the uniqueness of the peace that comes from God, also said, “My peace I give to you, not as the world gives…” (John 14:27). The peace of the world is very shallow, but when the peace of God comes, it comes like an army and overrides the troubles of many years. And the good news is that God does not hoard His peace. He is ever willing to bless you with it, if you will let Him. In Philippians 4:6-7, He commands you to be careful for nothing; but to let all your requests be made known to Him through prayer and supplication, with a heart of thanksgiving. That is when the peace of God, which passes human understanding, can garrison your heart, your soul, your spirit, and your physical life. Note that the Bible describes this peace as being “beyond human understanding”; that means it is out of this world. It cannot be adequately explained in speech or in writing. You can only know it when you experience it.

It is also heart-warming to know that the Bible says, “the God of peace Himself” is the one that will give you this peace, He is not going to delegate it to anybody. Jesus Himself is the One who will guard and separate you with His peace. Remember He is the Prince of Peace. That means no devil can disturb your peace, because God will separate you from the troubles all around through His armory of peace, so you can dwell in peace in your family, health, marriage, home, finance, ministry, in your walk with the Master, and over your children. That is why the bible says, even though “darkness will cover the earth, and gross darkness the people” but for you, your light will shine; and the more the darkness, the brighter you will shine, so much so that even kings will run to your shining light.

However, you need to realize that you are entitled to the peace of God. You are His child, and that makes you a child of peace. You may have problems with your faithfulness at the moment, but the Bible says, “He who calls you is faithful, He will do it” God is faithful. Now, you may struggle with that fact because you find it difficult to maintain faithfulness; and when you are able to maintain it for one day, you may think you have done so well. But God’s very own nature is faithfulness. To highlight the enormity of His faithfulness, the Bible says, ‘His faithfulness reaches to the heavens.’ That means it transcends human explanation.

If there is a prayer point you should pray regularly, it is for God to help you understand His faithfulness; because, how can God be calling you and you are afraid that the devil can undo you? He called you in the first place, He is calling you right now; and He never stops calling you. He is faithful. He didn’t call you yesterday and changed His mind some days later. So never forget His faithfulness. He is not a man that He would change or fail. Moreover, He is the One that calls, so the initiative is not yours. He who saw you and called you knows exactly what He saw in you. And because He was the One that defined your assignment, He is your enabler. The Bible says He is the one that will do it.

Christians fail when they get called and then assumed that they are the one to do it. You can live the Christian life and fail a thousand times in a second. But the moment you realize that He who called you is faithful, you cannot fail because you will put your confidence back in Him who has called you. After all, it is not by power or by might. It is by the Spirit of God.

In Acts 23, Apostle Paul found himself in the midst of an unusual trouble; the type he had never seen before in his life. It was a dangerous circumstance that even the military commander was afraid for him that the Jews might tear him to shreds because the crowd was pulling him here and there. But in the midst of the tumult and confusion, Jesus said to Him, “Be of good cheer, you have been a worthy witness in Jerusalem; you would do the same in Rome.”

Now is it not interesting to note how he was less worried enough to still hear Jesus? Because usually when worry comes in, you hear nothing else. You only see, hear and smell the trouble. Many times, it is not that the devil is that powerful. But when he disturbs your peace, you then allow worry to dictate your next move. In the process, you forget that faithful is He who has called you and you start to fret and waste time on the one who did not call you. Paul demonstrated his knowledge of God’s peace in the midst of crises by staying calm enough to hear the voice of God. That was why he charged us in his epistle to be careful for nothing, once God has spoken, nothing else is important.

God is not one to change very easily. Has He ever spoken to you? Then He will do it. God told Paul in Jerusalem, in the middle of a great turbulence, that he would get to Rome. Paul got there bound in chains as a prisoner, and he even had to endure a massive shipwreck along the way. Yet, he got there. He reached where God said he would get despite all the hindrances from men, the government, spiritual forces, and the devil. You too will get to your destiny in Jesus Name!

When God is talking to you, you are in control. You may be brought into the ship as a prisoner, but truly, you are the captain. Has he ever spoken to you concerning your future? Is it looking bleak and troubled now? Is it looking like it will never happen? Remember the God of peace is faithful. He is the One who calls, He will also do it!