God Works Peace for You

Pastor DaronCrossLife Blog

Some of you reading this may have an executive assistant. Someone to answer your e-mails, return your voice messages, prepare materials for the week, and file paperwork. Can you imagine how nice it would be to have an assistant who is there to help with everything in life, not just tasks at the work place? 

Stop imagining and start rejoicing! We have someone even better in our Savior God described in Hebrews 13:20. 

He is called “the God of peace.” In the original Greek language of the Bible it says “the God of the peace,” to stress that the peace God brings to your life is the one and only objective peace. 

Not a subjective peace that kind of depends on some stuff, that gladdens only occasionally, that offers its worry-free promises only on Fridays. 

Imperfect children of God sometimes get caught in the trap of qualifying God’s peace so that we think it effects us only when we feel good. We rob God of the responsibility of handling peace and defining how it works. It is a commodity we think we own, but we don’t. 

“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20,21).

God’s objective peace is always peace no matter what kind of storm rolls in, no matter which rumors spread, no matter how severely sinful behavior darkens the day, no matter whose opinion differs from ours. The God of the peace works for you. Nothing changes that. Ever. So breathe in his peace, as free, and available, and life-giving as oxygen.

It’s yours because God works for you “through the blood of the eternal covenant.” Drive by an accident scene’s wreckage and you take a glance and move on. Catch sight of blood splattered on the windshield and you gasp! Find out that it was the result of a purposeful hit by gang member with intent to kill, and your heart skips a beat because you just witnessed the carnage of a murder. 

God’s blood splattered on the cross, and it wasn’t an accident. It was first degree justice and love – the deliberately planned death of Jesus carried out by the mighty and merciful God. That blood works for you as an eternal covenant, unbounded and unbreakable in its commitment to save. No less available on bad days. No less effective on public sin. No less merciful to your enemies. No less faithful to guilt-ridden Christians who know they should be doing better. 

We know that is true because God “brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep.” God brought back his Son. He didn’t leave him on the cross. He didn’t forget about him in the tomb. 

God always keeps his promises. He promises that his Son is our “Lord,” the one who rules. And his Son is “Jesus,” the one who saves. And his Son is the “great Shepherd,” the one who cares. If the one who rules over all is also the one who saves from all and also the one who cares about all, and if he is at work in your life … well, then you have nothing to worry about today. Or ever.

PRAYER: Dear God, your peace is perfect. My imperfect ideas about peace, contentment and a relaxed heart and mind need your saving peace. Equip me with your peace today, at work for me even without my help. Amen.

FURTHER MEDITATION: Take 5 minutes and meditate on Hebrews 13:20,21. Read words and phrases and reflect on how they relate to each other. Pray through them. Ask the Holy Spirit to lighten you as you release your idea of peace for God’s true, lasting peace already promised in Jesus.