My text is an exuberant promise, but it is knit on to something before,
by that 'and' at the beginning of the verse. It is a promise, as all
God's promises are, on conditions. And here are the conditions. 'Be
careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.' That defines
the conditions in part; and the last words of the text itself complete
the definition. 'In Christ Jesus' describes, not so much where we are to
be kept, as a condition under which we shall be kept. How, then, can I
get this peace into my turbulent, changeful life?
I answer, first, trust is peace. It is always so; even when it is
misplaced we are at rest. The condition of repose for the human heart is
that we shall be 'in Christ,' who has said, 'In the world ye shall have
tribulation, but in Me ye shall have peace.' And how may I be 'in Him'?
Simply by trusting myself to Him. That brings peace with God.
The sinless Son of God has died on the Cross, a sacrifice for the sins
of the whole world, for yours and for mine. Let us trust to that, and we
shall have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. And 'in Him'
we have, by trust, inward peace, for He, through our faith, controls
our whole natures, and Faith leads the lion in a silken leash, like
Spenser's Una. Trust in Christ brings peace amid outward sorrows and
conflicts. When the pilot comes on board the captain does not leave the
bridge, but stands by the pilot's side. His responsibility is past, but
his duties are not over. And when Christ comes into my heart, my effort,
my judgment, are not made unnecessary, or put on one side. Let Him take
the command, and stand beside Him, and carry out His orders, and you
will find rest to your souls.
Again, submission is peace. What makes our troubles is not outward
circumstances, howsoever afflictive they may be, but the resistance of
our spirits to the circumstances. And where a man's will bends and says,
'Not mine but Thine be done,' there is calm. Submission is like the
lotion that is applied to mosquito bites--it takes away the irritation,
though the puncture be left. Submission is peace, both as resignation
and as obedience.
Communion is peace. You will get no quiet until you live with God. Until
He is at your side you will always be moved.
So, dear friend, fix this in your minds: a life without Christ is a life
without peace. Without Him you may have excitement, pleasure, gratified
passions, success, accomplished hopes, but peace never! You never have
had it, have you? If you live without Him, you may forget that you have
not Him, and you can plunge into the world, and so lose the
consciousness of the aching void, but it is there all the same. You
never will have peace until you go to Him. There is only one way to get
it. The Christless heart is like the troubled sea that cannot rest.
There is no peace for it. But in Him you can get it for the asking.
'The chastisement of our peace was laid upon Him.' For our sakes He died
on the Cross, so making peace. Trust Him as your only hope, Saviour and
friend, and the God of peace will 'fill you with all joy and peace in
believing.' Then bow your wills to Him in acceptance of His providence,
and in obedience to His commands, and so, 'your peace shall be as a
river, and your righteousness as the waves of the sea.' Then keep your
hearts in union and communion with Him, and so His presence will keep
you in perfect peace whilst conflicts last, and, with Him at your side,
you will pass through the valley of the shadow of death undisturbed, and
come to the true Salem, the city of peace, where they beat their swords
into ploughshares, and learn and fear war no more.