PEACE:Anchor in the Storm

1 Peter 3:1 In the same way, wives continue being appropriately submitted to your own husbands in order that any of them, who have not allowed themselves to be persuaded to believe the word, might, without being preached at, be won by way of your turned around manner of life. 2 This can happen as they scrutinize your pure transformed way of life with great trepidation. 3 Let your decoration not be the outward dressing up you do, such as the style of your hair, and the jewelry you wear, or the clothes you put on, 4 but rather let your decoration be the unseen person you are in your heart. Be decorated by an inner peace toward God, and an inner spirit that is undisturbed by circumstances. This kind of adornment does not wear out. This greatly honors God. 5 In fact, in this way, in past times, holy women who were putting their hope for salvation in God so decorated themselves while following after their own husbands. 6 For example, Sarah, because she was believing God, obeyed Abraham calling him lord. In so doing, you become children of Sarah, and do not have to be afraid of anything terrible.
7 You husbands, have the same kind of nature, sojourning together with your wives according to the knowledge that she is a weaker vessel. Give her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life so as not to render fruitless your prayers. (TWT)

We live in a world that is anything but peaceful. Both in our personal lives and in our cultural environment, conflict, turmoil, and stress are often the order of the day. People writing books and giving workshops on how to do certain skills and techniques in order to cope make fortunes. These can be helpful to a certain extent, but are not in any way what is possible according to God’s word. A sad commentary lies in the fact that you can find about as many “how to” books written for Christians as there are for the secular world. However, dressing up stress-management, conflict resolution, and the like in Christian jargon, with bible verses and spiritual disciplines thrown in, is no more the best answer for believers

The biblical perspective knows nothing of such approaches to resolving conflict. Certainly scripture instructs us to resolve conflicts with our neighbors and brothers while at the same time recognizing that such is not always possible. In Romans 12:18, Paul puts it this way, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with everyone.” (NIV) Jesus, in Matthew 5:23-24 tells us to leave our gift for Him at the altar and go make reconciliation with our brother who has something against us. Then, we can offer our gift. Jesus, in Matthew 18:15-17, also recognized that resolving external conflict is not always possible because He gives a procedure for dealing with brothers who are unwilling to make peace.

So, what then is the key for believers to find peace in a world without peace? The answer is simple, yet complex, simple in that it involves coming to understand a key biblical truth, and complex in that this truth flies in the face of all conventional “wisdom”.

This “wisdom” tells us that there is a high correlation between our circumstantial environment and inner tranquillity. It certainly tells us that externally, we must manipulate and control our circumstances until they are judged by us as “good”, eliminating all that are judged by us as “bad”. This “wisdom” also tells us that internal and external peace result from our efforts when appropriately implemented. We can do all things without God. Much of this contemporary “wisdom” insists that there is a causal relationship that flows back and forth between external and internal peace. The theme goes like this, “If we are at peace within we will bring peace to the world, and if we bring peace to the world we will be at peace within.” The only problem with all of this “wisdom” is that peace does not work that way. God sees it differently. (1 Corinthians 1:20b, “Has not God made all the wise philosophy of this world to be foolish absurdity?” [TWT])

Let us examine several key scripture passages that define for us peace as God sees it and intends for us to experience it. At the conclusion of His ministry, Jesus told His disciples in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you, not as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.” (NIV) In this simple statement, Jesus said several things that are key if we are to understand what God intends for us.

First, real inner peace is a gift. There are no “how to’s” to inner peace that work. There are no secular or spiritual disciplines, in and of themselves, that will produce it. Jesus gives it. This is why He said that He does not give it like the world does. Believers are not taught by scripture to try to be peaceful. Paul in both His greetings and conclusions to his letters always couples grace and peace. He knew full well that peace is as much a gift that cannot be earned or deserved as is God’s grace, which is His loving favor.

Second, Jesus indicates that true inner peace is not only given by God, but is also, both qualitatively and quantitatively, different from peace as the world sees it. Qualitatively, peace does not flow from things the world sees as giving peace. Quantitatively, it doesn’t come and go with circumstantial changes.
Third, the peace spoken of by Christ is not something the believer must look forward to receiving down the road in his walk with God. In John 14:27, “leave” and “give” in the Greek are in a tense that indicates that Jesus is continually leaving His peace with us and continually giving His peace to us.

Fourth, the net result of Jesus’ peace is hearts that are not troubled and fear that dissipates. (1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” [NIV])

A passage that beautifully expresses this God given peace is found in I Peter 3:1-4. Most standard translations translate verse four “a gentle and quiet spirit.” We believe there is a more literal and fuller meaning to these words, “but rather let your decoration be the unseen person you are in your heart. Be decorated by an inner peace toward God, and an inner spirit that is undisturbed by circumstances. This kind of adornment does not wear out. This greatly honors God.” (TWT)

Peter wrote these instructions to women who were living in circumstances that normally were anything but peaceful and undisturbing. These were believing wives married to unbelieving husbands. Peter, in 1 Peter 3:7, also tells believing men to be adorned with this same inner peace toward God. Notice several things about God’s peace in this passage. This is critical since Peter is really dealing with the peace Jesus talked about in John 14.

First, the peace that comes from God and truly anchors one’s life is not a benign acceptance of one’s circumstantial fate, or being at peace with one’s self. It is being at peace toward God! We know that in the cross of Christ, God was reconciling us to Himself, and in our redemption through faith in Christ, we become reconciled in our hearts toward God. However, as we come to know the God who has redeemed us, we come to understand that He holds us in His hand, inseparable from Him and the peace that exists between us. (John 10:28, Romans 8:35-39) We come to know that our eternal God knows exactly what He is doing, and we rejoice in that knowledge. We come to know that in Christ we are beyond ever being harmed in any way that has eternal consequences. Circumstances may be painful, unpleasant, dangerous, and even fatal, but they cannot touch us in any way that is truly meaningful now or eternally in our relationship with God. That, brothers and sisters, is the peace that passes understanding.

Second, Peter notes that this peace toward God is not disturbed by our circumstances. Since God gives this peace toward Him in our redemption through Christ, no circumstantial tragedy, pain, suffering, or blessing for that matter, can take it away. When a believer is obsessed around circumstances it only reveals one’s spiritual immaturity. Something is wrong when we are more concerned that God change our circumstances than change us and leave our circumstances as they are. It is better that God remake us in our circumstances than remake our circumstances around us. In this world that screams otherwise, it is difficult to truly believe this great truth; it is not our circumstances that harm us in any meaningful way. Rather, it is our lack of the knowledge of the God who redeems us that harms us. One of the saddest scenes on earth played out time and time again is the believer who becomes angry with God, walking away in a spiritual pout because tragedy, pain, and disappointment has shattered one’s circumstances in life. The sadness in this scene stems from a lack of knowledge of God and the faith that knowledge produces. Such believers do not understand the fact that one’s peace toward God has not truly been disturbed, nor God’s peace toward that one. Only one’s external circumstances have been touched.

Lastly, Peter tells them to “be decorated” with this inner peace. This, in the Greek, is in the passive voice. Our outer decorations are those things that we put on. Our inner self is the adornment which God, in Christ, puts on us. If we are redeemed it is there, within us already. When circumstances crush us down, look inward and upward, not outward. That is where our anchor is that holds in any storm. May God be praised!†