The Peace of God

Why might one desire to develop discernment? That is a question on everyones mind. Good choices are still good. Yes they are, but they still are not the best. The best choice today will still provide a better life tomorrow. In addition, the best choice today will provide the peace of God that will rule in your heart. 1COR 14:33, PHIL 4:7, 2COR 2:13, COL 3:15, 2 THES 3:16. Do you have that peace?

As we grow into discerning people we must be aware that peace will rule in our hearts. Now here is a kicker. When it comes to faith...we rely on facts. When it comes to discernment we rely on feelings!!! I say that to make note of the role feelings play in discernment. But feelings are unstable, transitory, etc. I hear the complaints, but listen to this: "Feelings are still a part of you created in God's image, as redeemed as any other part of you." While feelings should NEVER be accepted over, or in addition to, the truth; they can be used to discern between 2 or more good choices. You see God "speaks" to us through our feelings, strong impressions left on our mind. Through what is going on inside, we look to see God's guidance.

What happens when I feel bad? Look at its cause! Is it because of a bad piece of cheese? Did something happen? Are you angry, frustrated, discouraged? These are not times for decisions. They are times to reflect on why you feel that way. Too often a bad feeling has led to a hasty decision. This is usually not the will of God. It is not a choice made from peace, although sometimes it may relieve some stress and feel more peaceful. Face it, doesn't it feel peaceful sometimes running from problems, rather than facing them. Do not make choices because you are angry, or afraid, or discouraged, or restless. These are not God's choices. But understand this, some of God's choices may lead to a time of pain and heartache, turmoil and disappointment. Sometimes we make a hard choice. But these choices are to be made from peace, not anger etc.

Or bad feelings may be physical, a recent event, neglect of our responsibility, a trial permitted by God, a test sent by God so we can see that His peace is not something we earn or manufacture for ourselves. Don't make decisions when you feel bad. Keep quiet and meditate on why you feel bad. Resolve the issues within yourself.

When I feel good, is that God? No not always. It might be a good piece of cheese. Saying you have peace about a decision does not mean that choice is from God. This peace, joy, contentment, serenity, must be put to the test. When you think about it, there are several places peace can come from. It could be from God. It could be sent from the enemy to trick us into a bad choice. It could be our own sinful desires' way of saying 'thank you.' It could be a piece of cheese. It could be a change from the 'rut of our lives'. Many things can produce a good feeling of peace. Not all of them are from God. If we look at all forms of peace being from God we will live most of our lives in confusion and misery. We will be tossed about like a piece of bread on Lake Ontario. God's will shall always confuse us. 1 Thes 5:21.

Consider this, if Satan can't make us choose evil, his next plan is to give us false peace over bad choices. If Satan can manufacture the illusion of peace when we make a second or third rate choice, he will. And we will always wonder why God is leading us into misery. Discernment must be developed so we can choose God's will over the other good choices that Satan wants us to take.

Here are four kinds of false peace we need to be aware of. The first is a peace that exists when we knowingly go against God's Word. Is that peace from God? No! The second is the peace that leads us to accept the mediocre and live within less than our full potential. We want to avoid the discomfort of change, the feeling that comes when God wants us to stretch beyond our comfort zone. We need to identify the peace of mediocrity, of cowardice. This peace is not of God either!! The third kind of peace we need to avoid is the peace that comes from busyness. Any kind of workaholicism. Any activity that keeps us so busy we use it to escape the pain of our daily situation. Alcoholics have more peace when they are drunk than when they aren't, that's why they drink. A false peace that will destroy life and substitute for true peace. The fourth peace we need to avoid is that false peace that comes when we attempt to fulfill our own fleshly goals and directives. The peace that comes from meeting our own evil motives. The peace that a co-dependant person feels when they are helping someone. The peace a materialist feels when he gets his first porsche. The peace an unemployed person feels when he gets a job offer. False peace that comes from doing something you have always wanted to do. These peaces will end in pieces. You will blame God but you need to look no farther than your own heart.

We need to test everything to find out if it is from God. To do this we need to build a lifelong experience of knowing ourselves. Our desires, hopes, fears, motivations, etc. What makes us who we are. When we know what moves us we can better judge if peace is from God or our flesh.

We need to especially question our motives. There are three that will always raise their heads when it comes to peace...honor, wealth, and security. Our capacity for self deception is unrivalled. Our heart is like deepest dark waters. We need to be ruthless with ourselves. Learn to hate even the clothes stained by sinful flesh. Any decision you make from bad motives is a win for the enemy. In all that you do, do it for the glory of God.

We all desire recognition. We err thinking our value comes from the esteem others ascribe to us. More toys do not make us happy. We are not happen when we control all situations in which we feel vulnerable. True honor, wealth and security come only from Christ, the author and finisher of our faith.

My last point today about discernment regards the absolute certainty of decisions. Sometimes we look at our hearts, our motives, to our friends, etc and we still are not sure if a choice is from God. That peace is there and there is no APPARENT fleshly reason for it. Did you watch Evander Holyfield last night? He said God wanted him to win, but he was wrong? Because there is peace, and because there isn't a fleshly reason behind it that we can clearly see, doesn't mean that it is always from God. But at the time it will feel that way. What are we to do. If you wait for every decision to be clear cut then you will waste a lot of your life and miss a lot of best choices because of indecision. Sometimes we need to take a leap of faith. Sometimes we will SPLAT. But we will learn more about our motives and it will increase our discernment if we let it. Sometimes we just need to go ahead and do something we believe God has called us to do. While one can never say 100% unconditionally what God’s will is. We can have a relative certainty and trust God to work the rest out.

Do you make decisions based on peace? Are you sure it's God's peace? Have you searched your heart, your motives? Are you scared to be honest with yourself? Why? Do you test everything? If not, do you often fall into bad choices? Or do you often miss better choices? Are psychological books that help you see more of lifes patterns helpful for discernment? Have you ever SPLATTED? Did you learn from it? What changes do you need to make in order to be a more discerning person?