PEACE OF MIND, OF HEART AND OF CONSCIENCE ANYWHERE

“Follow peace … without which no one shall see the Lord”, Heb.12:14 

This verse states “Follow peace with all, and holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord”. I would only talk about the peace without which none will ever see the Lord, if we would believe Scripture. I am aware that the holiness issue is the great point of discussion nowadays – and I uphold that.

Many verses talk about seeing the Lord, some of which refer to it as a here and now issue. We read in Mat 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”. We may see and have Him work in our lives, see Him in eternity, or at judgment day as a friend, or even behold Him as Isaiah and Moses did once upon a time or in the same way. I am sure that to seem holy is not the kind of holiness which will render it possible unto us to see the Lord, nor to be struggling to be so. The holiness which it is talked about here is the one which is implanted in us, making part of our nature from then on, the new one God granted and put into us to abide and live with it forever. There is no holiness in pretending it, for one may be in the feast of the Bridegroom, yet without a spotlessness garment on. No wonder such will be thrown with the hypocrites, feet and hands bound with none able to loosen him!

Another remark, before getting into this issue concerning peace, is that one should take a full hold of what Scripture states alone – without adding unto it or even going as far as ignoring from it. It says “none will see the Lord”. If these conditions are not fulfilled, not even a Paul will see the Lord. It is a good habit to be fully able to assume what is written there – alone!

Quite often, people have reasons which disturb their peace of mind, and out of ignorance these try charging at the object which came to wake up a snoring sin within, mistaking the reason why the peace of mind is done away with, for whatever came to help point out an issue of great importance and concern to God. If one is taking pleasure out of sleep on account of sin, anyone waking such up will be turned into a victim for one or the other reason.

The reason for stumbling is not sin in the world, aggressiveness from others, but sin and selfishness in the heart rather. We should not have peace at the cost of sleeping sins, but rather at the absence of any of them. Quite often, there is a ducking away from such things which will come and state a point regarding our hearts, having these as being evil among us, especially when the Lord is using that to pinpoint unto us some kind of sin which might have been hidden till then from our eyes. We should cooperate rather then avoid it, knowing the Lord is there to help and save from falling into such things as are settled within us and turn us unto fear again.

Not all incursions of sin in our lives are due to our filthiness or aim at our cleansing, however, for any prophet might experience other people’s sins so as to have something to preach from as well. It is not the absence of outward struggles, nor their presence, which will point out peace, but rather the absence of inward violence and conflictuosity while in them or out of them, which will fully and faithfully x-ray and portray the real state of our hearts, mind, and motives. Peace is where harmony prevails without having it conditioned to a certain pattern, or configuration of happenings. There are people who have peace because they are kept busy with struggles and there are such who keep do not keep their peace when they have no troubles to come and disturb them. One will be tested and proved by the absence of trouble to solve, the other with having them not to solve. This inward peace within any kind of God given situation is a seal of the peace Jesus gives, but not as the world does. Peace within without conditional pre-settings done unto it is a piece of security and assurance one will or is seeing the Lord for sure. Is there harmony in your heart when you are rich or poor, having plenty or lacking all? Without it, you will never be able to see God at all. It will be good to stop blaming sinners and robbers because they make you fearful and disturbed within – rather blame your distrusting or disturbed heart for that situation. Robbers have no power to take you to hell, unless your heart is of the kind which is easily disturbed by them. Your own sin does that - never the robbers! Follow after that kind of peace during any kind of pressure, or even during the absence of all pressure. Do not feign your peace nor your harmony – for it has got to be real.

If you have not peace with people, you will not have with God either. It does not mean they will have and breed peace towards you, but rather that you do not even think of having to be peaceful – because of being so by nature itself – whether people are against or for you. What these are is their business and not yours.

Another sign of real peace is a sound quietness of heart. In the world, they try to attain to it by going out into nature to nurture some peace there, which, in fact, they do not possess at all. They get into the sheep fold but not going through the narrow gate of salvation from their heart. The peace of God is never depending upon the outward compilation of issues and conditions, but rather on the settled issues from within the heart, whether there are lovely songs to listen to, birds or cursing and disdain to taste by the tongue of the soul. You should have and be able to bear the same peace in your closet, just as much in an environment of drunken people where there is no respect towards God to be seen and felt. God consciousness will see to it that you are the same man, whether people around you curse or praise. You should never look for a site to have and keep your peace of mind, conscience or heart, but rather a heart, a conscience and a mind which is at ease when God is around. Find God and He will grant peace as the world does not grant it. Go after the God of peace and not after the peace of God.

You should never have peace if God is not around and in you. If your God is far from you, if His absence is felt and it strikes you deeply, you should neither try to be at ease nor at rest. It is better to be reprimanded by God because of unbelief, then to be assured by the devil you are a believer. The only peace which will seal our heavenly passport will be the one we may have in the presence of God. Seek to be there.

If then, the presence of God makes you restless and careful, have your heart stand still and enquired for about reason for it being so. Seek out for the link for your restlessness, seek then to go deeper into His presence instead of going away from there, and fear not to be reprimanded by Him, nor to be chastised because of sin when there, seeking your peace elsewhere, for “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. The stripes of a wound cleanses away evil, and strokes the inward parts of the belly”, Pro 27:6; 20:30.

To cease from being an enemy among such as are your enemies and friends, that is what the peace of God is all about. It is not as the one the world gives, but rather as the one which will assure you to see God - not your enemies. You do not have to accept their sin to keep your peace, for that peace you may have from then on will be the one you may experience without having God. Having peace at the cost of denying God is no peace at all. People are easily friendly when they are acceptable, reasonable and smiling towards you. If they are at their worst, if for the sake of having peace with all you do not even accept their sin to take it as good for their sake, if you reject their sinning and even so have peace, there is an unmistaken possibility you will see and experience God soon - if you don't do so already. If your peace then attracts such as are not accepted for whatever they are, blessed are you, for yours is the Kingdom of God. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers! For they shall be called the sons of God”, Mat 5:9. Remember, the only peace which must rule your whole heart, is the one you are to have in the presence of God anywhere. If you come to offend and grieve the Spirit of God away, having your peace at cost of God leaving you, that kind of peace is a fraud and you are worldly.  

The peace Jesus gives is a inner peace in the presence of God. If you follow that, have it then, and have it multiplied. Just follow after it and have it then, fully given and not worked up. That's the kind of peace God grants. It doesn't lead you to be critical, but to live with God anywhere. Amen.

José Mateus
zemateus@msn.com