Wonderful Peace

A Bible Study for Women using the authorized King James Bible, the only inerrant Word of God

By Patricia Dowers

Introduction

Peace is a state of being that is much sought and often discussed in these unsettled times. Our world is experiencing wars and unrest on every continent. At this time of year, just coming out of the Christmas season, we have sung about, thought about, and read this word,” peace”, on greeting cards almost daily. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines peace in several ways, i.e., freedom from disquieting thoughts or emotions; harmony in personal relations; a state of tranquility or quiet; a state or period of mutual concord between governments. All of these are greatly desired.

The Bible tells us that the world lost its peace after the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Peace crumbled when sin and death entered. Adam and his family would no longer enjoy the peace of a personal walk with the Lord in the garden because of their rebellion. Over time in the ensuing centuries mankind forgot how to pursue peace. Genesis 6:5 tells us “the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” What a place to live! The following verses and chapters lead into the devastating account of Noah and the world-wide flood. The Bible says in verse 6 that “it grieved God at His heart”. What a horrible thing to do to the Lord Who only wanted His best for us.

After the flood, mankind had an opportunity for a do-over but that soon fell apart. That is because peace is not natural to the heart of man. We think we want it but do not know how to cultivate it. Peace has only ever been temporary at best. Scripture tells us loss of peace is directly related to sin. Please read Isa. 59:2 and 8 aloud with your group.

Please join me in this Bible study while we explore the difference between the temporary peace the world offers and the lasting peace of the Creator and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Please note: In this study, as in all others, it is important to read all Scripture references for yourself that you may know what God has to say.

Session I

History has shown countless occasions that peace was hard-fought for but never really won. World War I was termed the war to end all wars. That war was followed closely by World War II. At the cost of millions of lives and ravaged countries men would come together and broker peace, only to lose their commitment and begin the process all over again.

In today’s world with our ability through advanced technology to see into every corner of the world, nothing has changed. There are wars, skirmishes and unrest everywhere. How do we, as believing women, navigate through what we have little control over to find peace in our hearts in spite of the circumstances that surround us? Can we trust that there is a lasting peace for us in this world in every situation?

Those of us trusting in the shed blood of Jesus for salvation, and I pray you do, know that every promise of our Lord is true. We can count on it. If His promise to save us is true than His promise to sustain us is true. Please copy Rom. 5:1 in the space below.

Once we have peace with God which is completely by grace, with nothing we can do to earn it, then we have access to the peace of God.

Please read the following verses and fill in the blanks.

John 14:27 ________ I leave with you, _______ peace I give unto you… Let not your heart be __________, neither let it be ________.

John 16:33 …in me ye might have _______. In the world ye have __________: … I have _________ the world.

I think we can all agree that if we do not have peace of heart and mind then it does not matter what is happening on the outside. A beautiful, peaceful, sunny day does nothing to help a troubled heart. The storms on the inside can be more frightening than the storms on the outside. Some of us are so accomplished at hiding our inner storms that those closest to us are completely unaware (at least, for a time).

We have already been assured of God’s peace so why is it sometimes so elusive? It is because we do not claim it. We need to claim the many peace promises in Scripture. If you have a concordance in the back of your Bible you can look up the word, peace, and find many verses that refer to this subject. When you find one that is especially meaningful to you, memorize it so you can have it with you at all times.

The Lord wants us to have peace in our hearts. It is one of the gifts He gives to sustain us in a very troubled world, but it is also a responsibility that comes with following Him. Col. 3:15 says …let the peace of God rule in your hearts. This is strong language but there is an important reason for it. The Lord’s enemy and ours is also the enemy of peace. Satan is behind every unpeaceful thought and action from the beginning of time. He especially desires to steal peace from you and me. Remember, he cannot steal the soul that belongs to God but he can trouble the hearts of believers to make them ineffective for the Lord’s work.

Please join me in the next session where we will learn more about this formidable enemy and his plan, and God’s protection.

Session II

Please read Isa. 9:6 and 7 aloud with your group. These are mighty, prophetic verses given in the book of Isaiah regarding the coming of the Prince of Peace. Our Lord Jesus is coming to establish the throne of David and His kingdom. Why was it important to list Prince of Peace among His titles? As the Author of peace, Jesus is the only source of true and lasting peace. As mentioned in the introduction, peace was lost to man in the garden of Eden following the first sin. Man lost his peace with God when he fell out of fellowship with Him (Gen. 3:23 and 24). Humankind also lost peace of mind when fellowship with God was severed (Prov.5:21-23). Man lost peace with his brother when each placed his own agenda above God’s (Isa. 57:20 and 21). This is why it is particularly important to practice the directive given to us in I Tim. 2:1-5. Please read this passage aloud with your group.

As Satan was present at the first sin and the instigator of the unrest that followed, his agenda has always been to cultivate that unrest and lead people away from finding peace with God. If he can keep the unsaved from trusting in God’s salvation and keep the saved from remembering God’s peace, he will be as successful as he can possibly be. Please read II Cor. 4:3 and 4 and answer the questions below.

What has the god of this world done to them which believe not? (Verse 4)

Why?

We have many examples in God’s Word of Satan attempting to steal the peace of God’s people. None of us is immune if we let our guard down. In the Old Testament book of Job, so many heartbreaking calamities had fallen upon Job that he was crying out in despair. Please read Job 3:23-26 aloud with your group. Job was having trouble understanding why God would allow his trouble. As we read through the rest of the book, we see how Satan (the great accuser) lost no time in sending “friends” to “comfort” him, but in reality, to accuse Job and draw him further away from his Lord.

Please read I Kings 19:1-4 aloud with your group and answer the questions below.

Elijah had just performed a number of miracles on behalf of the Lord. Yet why was he running away?

What is he requesting of the Lord?

Satan had somehow convinced Elijah that God could not sustain and protect him. Satan stole Elijah’s peace. If you continue reading you will see how the Lord is faithful but how sad that we lose so much time and peace of mind when we take our eyes off of Him.

There are so many other examples in the Old and New Testaments of similar experiences of stolen peace. We think of the Apostles Peter and Paul and Martha, the sister of Lazarus where the Lord needed to rebuke their lack of faith leading to

loss of peace. I believe the lesson here is that in our human weakness it is not unusual to forget the Lord’s powerful promises and believe Satan’s lie that we are on our own. One of those precious promises is the promise of restoration to God. He longs to restore us. If you feel comfortable, please discuss with your group a time when you looked away from the Lord and experienced a loss of peace.

The first step to regaining peace is reconciliation with the Lord. Please read Col. 2:6 and 7. What are we to do to regain and retain our peace with God?

Now read verse 8. What is another deceptive way that Satan can steal our peace?

But thankfully, in verses 9 and 10 what are we reminded of that brings to us the victory?

Before we end this session let us take a quick look at one more long-coming peace and a particular target of Satan, that is near to the heart of God. That is the peace of Israel. We will deal with this subject more fully later in this study however, it is important for those of us who make up the Bride of Christ to understand that we should be very much invested in the peace of Israel. For now, please read Psalm 128 together with your group.

Session III

This world is not promised peace until the second coming of the Prince of Peace, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To us, His dear children and His redeemed, however, the Lord gives the promise of peace in our hearts until He comes to claim His own.

II Cor. 4:8,9 gives examples of different ways that suffering comes upon us. Please read these verses aloud with your group. Any one of these can take away our peace even when we understand our trial is for the ultimate glory of God.

I do not know about you but I sometimes feel that the peace in my heart is often fragile and very vulnerable. The Lord wants us to claim, maintain, sustain and reflect our peace. That is a lot! Yes, for us, but not for Him. Scripture gives us all the tools we need.

Please read Isa. 26:3,4 and answer the following questions.

How will the Lord keep us?

What two things must we do first?

How long can we trust Him?

The Lord’s Holy Spirit permanently dwells in the hearts of believers for He is the promised Comforter of John 15:26. Yet we still need to live in a troubled world. Those troubles can be circumstantial, Satan directed, or even of our own making. They can be small and annoying, just enough to interfere with our day, or catastrophic, shaking our foundations and our faith. I would like to call your attention to a few verses that remind us that God’s peace is always there for us to claim. There are so many more of these reassurances in the Bible. I suppose the Lord knew we would need them. Please read each reference and identify the special peace it brings.

Psa. 4:8

Psa. 27:5

Psa. 147:3-5

Prov. 14:26,27

Isa. 57:18,19

Rom. 8:28 and 37

God desires us to walk in the light of His peace and to reflect that light in our walk for Him. In this sense, our inner peace actually becomes our outward testimony. We demonstrate an important way that walking with the Lord sustains the believer. Please read Col. 3:15,16 and Heb. 12:14,15 aloud with your group. If you can think of a time when reflecting the peace of God became a testimony to someone else, please share it with your group.

We have a marvelous God who can comfort His children in a way that brings honor and glory to His name. As the face of Moses reflected the glory of God after spending time with Him, so we should reflect His glory in the same way. Do others see the peace of God on my face? It is easy for me to look peaceful when everything is peaceful, but what about when my world has been rocked? I am reminded of the children’s story of Chicken Little, the little chick who ran around screaming to everyone, “the sky is falling!”, when it was only an acorn that fell on his head. Aren’t all earthly worries and trials just acorns compared to God’s glorious and everlasting peace?

Please read Phil. 4:5-7 and copy verse seven in the space below.

The more we trust Him for our peace, the more peaceful we become and, in turn, radiate that peace to others. This is one of the ways the Lord can use our weakness to show His strength and allow us to be a testimony to accomplish His will of pointing lost souls to Himself; all while filling us with His perfect peace. This is our wonderful God!

Please read I Pet. 5:6,7 aloud with your group. What two things must you do to receive peace from the Lord?

Now read verses 8 and 9. What three things must you do to keep the devil from stealing that peace?

There is a very short but very meaningful verse in Psalm 119:164 that can help us put some perspective on the troubling circumstances that overtake us. The psalmist said,” Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgements.” The point is not the number of times but the fact that he is convinced that God’s judgements are righteous. In the following verse (v.165), what is the twofold reward for this trust?

We must never cease to praise Him for it.

Please join me in Session IV where we learn about God’s ultimate plan for our peace. Very exciting!

Session IV

The good news for those of us sealed by the blood of the Lamb is that God keeps His promises. The bad news for all others is that God keeps His promises. From the beginning of time He had a plan for our internal peace in Him with many havens of rest along the way. He also has a plan for our eternal peace and rest. Satan’s plan, however, is to disrupt all of this though he knows he can never win. God is still in control. Satan attempts to carry out his plan by attacking God’s people as much as possible. The Apostle Paul was very aware of this danger as he expressed to the church at Corinth (II Cor. 2:11).

God also has a plan for the peace of Israel, His chosen people.

God has never forsaken Israel. They would go their own way when He wanted nothing more than to gather them to Himself. The ultimate rejection was in not accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as Messiah. The Jewish people have suffered much through the years in persecution, attempted extermination, and constant uprooting. God has not forgotten His promises to Abraham, however. He provided a temporary peace in the formation of the nation of Israel that is considered a world power today. Sadly, we know from Scripture that peace will be shattered again before Israel will turn to Jesus. But they will turn to Him when they see King Jesus coming with His saints to take His place on the throne of David. Isa. 60:15-18 gives a beautiful account of this time. Please read it together with your group.

The prophet, Jeremiah, also describes this time of peace for Israel coming out of the tribulation. Please read Jer. 30:7-10 and answer the questions below.

How is this time described in v.7?

Whom will Israel serve in v.9?

What is in store for Jacob (or Israel) in v. 10?

We cannot speak of God’s ultimate peace for those of us who look for His coming without comparing to what He has in store for those who oppose His peace. II Pet. 3:10-13 describes a horrific scene at the end of this age of rebellion. How comforting to know we are safe in Jesus from this experience but the time is short. We must be busy at His work.

Below is a beautiful and comforting hymn written a century ago but still speaks to the soul. Please ask someone in your group to read the words aloud while you allow the Holy Spirit to minister peace to your soul.

Wonderful Peace

By Rev. Warren Donald Cornell USA 1858-1936.

1 Far away in the depths of my spirit tonight
Rolls a melody sweeter than psalm;
In celestial-like strains it unceasingly falls
O’er my soul like an infinite calm.

2 What a treasure I have in this wonderful peace,
Buried deep in the heart of my soul;
So secure that no power can mine it away,
While the years of eternity roll.

3 I am resting tonight in this wonderful peace,
Resting sweetly in Jesus’ control;
For I’m kept from all danger by night and by day,
And His glory is flooding my soul.

4 And methinks when I rise to that City of peace,
Where the Author of peace I shall see,
That one strain of the song which the ransomed will sing,
In that heavenly kingdom shall be.

5 Ah! soul, are you here without comfort or rest,
Marching down the rough pathway of time?
Make Jesus your friend ere the shadows grow dark;
Oh, accept this sweet peace so sublime.

Refrain:
Peace! Peace! wonderful peace,
Coming down from the Father above;
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray,
In fathomless billows of love.

Please read Rev. 21:1-7 with your group and write verse7 in the space below.

These verses describe the bride of Christ, made up of the Church of Christian believers, descending out of Heaven as the “New Jerusalem” to rule with our Lord over the earth for a thousand years of peace and eternity beyond. This is our final reward of lasting peace that only Jesus, the Prince of Peace can usher in. Until that time, I pray your heart and soul and mind are filled with God’s…

Wonderful Peace.