God’s Timing and Purposes – Ecc. 3:1-8
Part 21
Pastor Vicky MootsKingman, Kansas
Ecc. 3:8d: “…and a time of peace.” A time of peace is always the desired result after “a time of war,” but it comes at a great price: the blood of those who fought the battle. Spiritual peace is also the result of precious blood that was shed. It is the result of the battle that was won on the cross by Jesus Christ.
Paul tells us in Col. 1:20 that Jesus “…made peace through the blood of his cross…” We receive that peace by faith in His atoning sacrifice, as Paul declares in Rom. 5:1: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” By accepting Christ as Savior, we have peace with God, and no longer need to fear His judgment.
But, as Christians, did you know that we can have peace even in the midst of our battle, even in the foxhole while surrounded by the enemy, even in the midst of our stormy trial? Sometimes the battle is raging all around us, and at other times it is raging within, but we can still have peace. Not only can we have peace with God through salvation, through the blood of Jesus, but we can also have the peace of God, through Christ.
Jesus speaks peace to us through His Word, as He stated in John 16:33: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace…” He spake peace to the wind and the waves, as well as to the troubled disciples, in Mark 4:39, when He said, “…Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”
His Word still speaks to us today and brings peace to our troubled hearts, if we will but read it and heed it. David, who had faced many trials and battles, found this to be true in His own life and exclaimed in Ps. 85:8, “I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints…” There is power in His voice, and yet it brings peace when we are fearful and under attack by the enemy.
Are you willing to listen and to hear what the Lord is speaking to you from His Word? Faith comes by hearing what God is saying. Let His Word speak to your heart personally, and you will discover the peace of God which Paul referred to in Phil. 4:7: “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep [guard] your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
The peace of God is not like the peace of this world. The word “peace” means “the absence of conflict,” but that only applies to natural peace. The peace of God safe-keeps, or guards, our hearts from conflict in the midst of the conflict, both physical and spiritual, which is all around us. This peace is beyond all human comprehension. It is not a state of mind; it is a state of the heart. Unbelievers can not understand it, for it must be experienced spiritually.
The peace of God is the peace that Jesus promised to His disciples, and to us, shortly before going to the cross: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
So, we see that we are now in both “a time of war” and “a time of peace” during these end-times. Satan is attacking us from all sides, and there are many things currently happening which are causing people to fear. However, we need not fear the things that are coming to pass, for we can have peace in our hearts, no matter what happens, if we keep our minds and our eyes focused on the Lord, and not on the world or our circumstances. God promised this to us in Isa. 26:3: “Thou [God] wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee…” The word “stayed” means “fixed; established; unwavering.” This means that if we unwaveringly fix our minds on the Lord, then we will have an unwavering, perfect peace in spite of the circumstances.
Are you still looking for “a time of peace” in your life? There is no way to have true peace, the peace that passes understanding, other than through the blood of His cross. His blood has made peace between God and man, and Jew and Gentile, and can give us peace in our hearts. Now is the time to stop your struggling and to claim your “time of peace” through the Prince of Peace who was sent by God to bring “peace on earth, good will to men.”
