OUR PRINCE OF PEACE

“On that day, when evening came, He said to them, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him.  And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up.  Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”  And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Hush, be still.’ And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.  And He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid?  How is it that you have no faith?’ They became very much afraid and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”  (Mark 4:35-41)

Experienced fisherman were bailing water out of the boat; fear had gripped their hearts. They were convinced that they were going to drown.   How does Jesus Christ fall asleep in the midst of a violent storm while being tossed to and fro, waves crashing over the side, with panic all around Him?  Jesus, embracing His humanity, must have been physically exhausted from being with the crowds teaching, preaching, and healing. But Christ, embracing His deity, was at peace spiritually because He knew this would not be how He or the disciples were going to perish; He was in the perfect will of His Heavenly Father.

This passage in scripture confirms that we can be in the perfect will of our Father, following Christ in our journey, and still find ourselves on a stormy sea. David Jeremiah, a famous preacher, has this written in the margins of his bible: “I would rather be with Jesus in the boat than without Him on the shore.” It is at these times of life that we learn to not look at the waves crashing over the side of our boat, but instead look to the One who is in the boat with us, riding the rough seas by our side.  He will not abandon us in the choppy waters.  He is peace in our boat which can calm the stormy seas. “For a child will be born to us…and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6)

This is expressed in a number of ways in our lives:

SPIRITUAL PEACE: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)  Jesus reconciled us to God by His death on the cross.  He is the only way to have true, everlasting peace with God.  You cannot earn it yourself; instead, you must believe and accept by faith that Jesus paid the penalty of sin on the cross and forever more erased the debt owed to Him.  With this comes the calm assurance that you will be with Him forevermore.

In the Old Testament, peace offerings were one of the 5 main Levitical offerings.  The Hebrew word for peace offerings is “zebach”, which translates “fellowship offering” or “sacrifice of happiness.”  It was a voluntary sacrifice of thanks.  Peace offerings were always proceeded by the daily burnt offerings.  “It was never offered to obtain peace, but as a celebration of its existence.  It is a picture of the fellowship between God and the believing sinner based on the blood sacrifices.”
(www.abideinchrist.com) 

SITUATIONAL PEACE: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” (John 14:27)  Our inner peace does not have to be dependent upon our external circumstances.  “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

We can uplift our fears and concerns, our doubts and worries, to our Heavenly Father through our Savior, Jesus Christ, and He will substitute the world’s worries for His peace that passes understanding.  Sometimes we have to bring these requests to Him over and over again before we feel at rest from our troubled souls, but He is forever patient and kind with us, and wants us to lay it all at His feet and depend on Him.

SUSTAINING PEACE:  “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.”  (Colossians 3:15)  The waves may be crashing all around us—and we may feel like we are sinking—but The Prince of Peace reigns in our hearts, living in us through His Holy Spirit.  As our relationship with Christ deepens and expands, we can learn to trust Him no matter what the circumstances.  This is an abiding peace that has taken hold of our mind and emotions and will not let go because we have learned how to trust Him in all things. If we have grown in His word and have seen Him at work in the past, then we have come to know that He has our best at heart as He points us towards the future.  “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)  The refiner’s fire will be used to mold and shape us, but we can learn to trust Him by faith that He is at work in our life and the lives around us.  This is how we learn to praise Him in all circumstances and trust Him even more.  Oh to be sure, we will still have tears and moments of doubt, but at the core of our being we can trust in Him. “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3)

After Jesus awoke, it states in the Amplified Bible: “He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great and wonderful calm (a perfect peaceableness).” (Matthew 8:26)  Jesus, the Son of God, has the authority and the power to calm the storm. This may be demonstrated in our earthly lifetime over a particular circumstance: a miraculous healing, a legal matter dropped, a marriage restored, a prodigal son returned. Just as suddenly as the storm rose up, Christ can calm the external forces to a stillness that will astound and amaze us and cause us to fall on our knees and praise His name.

But here is the mystery: it may be that the cancer returns, the legal bills mount, the marriage fails, the prodigal son continues to wander.  The sea billows continue to roll. At these times, God's power can still be on display in our lives. This is when  He can do an internal work and calm our hearts, giving us strengthened faith because He is our Jehovah Shalom, dwelling in our hearts even though we continue to be tossed to and fro by the fiercest of storms.

How about you?  Do you believe that Jesus was simply a good teacher?  Or do you believe He is the Son of God who has command of the crashing waves in your life?   If you have not done so, say a simple prayer and ask Him into your heart today.

Are you relying on a superficial peace that the world promises and then snatches away (Jeremiah 6:14) or are you placing your trust in the One who can give you a deep, abiding, peace? Confess that you have relied on the temporary things of this world and not turned to Him, the Prince of Peace, the only One who will never leave you or forsake you.

Are you in the midst of a trying circumstance and are overwhelmed by the bedlam in your life?  Is your boat about to capsize? If so, cry out to Him to give you His peace that passes all understanding.  Turn it over to Him and allow Him to replace your fears with trust and hope and bolster your faith. 

Have you come to experience His deep, abiding, sustaining peace?  Then be grateful and praise His name no matter what the situation, knowing that He loves you and cares for you beyond measure.  He will not maroon you but instead bring you safely to the other side, either in this lifetime or the next, because your heart is anchored in the One who is your Redeemer and Saviour .

God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.—C.S. Lewis