Re-Release: Real Peace vs. False Peace

Peace will always accompany God’s voice. You may be scared out of your wits, but if God’s talking to you, peace will be there, too. You may be disappointed, shocked or uncomfortable, but if you have a sense of peace, it is a strong indication God is leading you there.

Of course, it is never wise to discern God’s leading, especially about major decisions, based on peace alone. Especially for me, cuz I can be kinda slow. That’s why I always ask God to make it plain, say it often and give me a healthy dose of clarity and discernment. And when it’s God speaking, He always does.

As we discussed last time, God is the Prince of Peace and He promises peace to those who trust Him. It is a fruit of the Spirit. Sorta like a packaged deal—you want the Spirit of God and He throws peace in for free. But while peace cannot be separated from God’s character, it can be difficult to discern, even within ourselves.

I confess that many times, especially early in my Christian walk (and most often in dating situations), I grossly misinterpreted a “good feeling” as the peace of God. I made some big mistakes following what I thought was God’s peace. And for the record, marrying Jon was NOT one of them. Clearly, I’m talking about the others…and we’ll just leave that right there.

So how do we know when the warms fuzzies are God’s peace…or something else?

Here are a few things that could be misinterpreted as peace:

1. Relief that a decision has been made. I personally hate to be in limbo for too long and prefer to know exactly where I’m headed, thankyouverymuch. That causes problems for me in the peace department. Sometimes if I wrestle with decisions for too long, the simple act of finally deciding to go one way or another can feel a lot like God’s peace. I encountered this last spring summer fall year when my husband got the house-hunting itch, and it took him almost six months to scratch it. House hunting became our family pastime. Our realtor and his family became our closest friends. I’m not making any of this up. I wanted so badly for him to make a decision about a house—any house—that I nearly missed God’s voice to me in the midst of that little journey. A journey that led us right back to the house we’ve lived in for the last 6 years.  I’m still not making any of this up.

2. Release from discomfort or responsibility. When we leave an extremely uncomfortable or stressful situation, especially one that has been uncomfortable and stressful for a long time, we can easily think it is “peace” to escape it. And it very well may be more peaceful to walk away from a difficult circumstance than to stay in it. But we cannot confuse the “release” with God’s peace. (Wouldn’t that make a great church marquis quote?) This can be especially dangerous when we are considering a job change, a relocation or a divorce. I remember when I had a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old-and I desperately wanted to step down from the position of Children’s Ministry Director after holding the position for 3 years. I was completely fried on all levels, and I just wanted OUT. What I expected to be a routine resignation, turned into my pastor questioning my motives and my source of peace in the decision. “Do you feel peace because you are now free from this responsibility or because this is God’s will for you?” Ouch. I didn’t appreciate it very much at the time, but he was absolutely right for asking the question. (It was totally God’s peace, by the way.) There are many examples in the Bible where God led His people to endure painful trials in order to perfect their faith. Therefore, we can’t always assume that the path of least resistance is the path to God’s peace.

3. A met need. Food, shelter, clothing…love, attention, affection. Just because someone or something is meeting our needs, it does not necessarily mean it is God leading us there. In fact, many times God leads us to a desolate place…a needy place…so that we will turn to Him and allow Him to be our sole Provider. Let’s just say that some of my former dating fiascos fall nicely into this category. As well as the next category. *ahem*

4. A met desire. Lust, wealth, power…sometimes the lure of our flesh and the satisfaction of those desires feels so “right.” I believe our flesh is one of the loudest, most persistent voices within us (we’ll talk more about the other voices later.) It incessantly screams for attention. When we finally give the flesh what it wants, it feels good. But—HELLO– that is definitely not God’s peace. Although, God will often lead us into situations that are both godly AND pleasing to the flesh. This is why we need discernment and confirmation, especially from other mature Christians who hear God and have our best interests in mind.

Far from simply “warm fuzzies” the peace of God is one of the most powerful weapons in our spiritual arsenal. Giving us the ability to override every natural impulse. Strengthening us when we feel like we cannot take one more step on our weary path. Removing anxiety during scary situations and erecting a hedge of protection around our hearts and minds that the Enemy cannot penetrate.

Peace literally allows us to transcend unthinkable circumstances.

Doesn’t peace sound a lot like God???

Have you ever had a situation where you misinterpreted something else for God’s peace? Dating stories encouraged.