Jesus has given us many promises about His rest and His peace that everyone, who believes in Him and comes to Him and learns from Him should experience. The peace of God, which passes all understanding and shall keep the hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. If the Word has made these promises, why do so many people, who say they believe and claim to be Christians, don’t experience rest and peace in their lives but the exact opposite? What is the cause of this turmoil, anxiety, mental anguish, and emotional distress? How can you experience the rest and peace of God in your life? What does the Bible say about the peace of God?
The wicked have no peace
But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked (Isaiah 57:20).
There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked (Isaiah 48:22)
We live in a time of turmoil, where many things take place. But as long as we remain faithful to Jesus Christ and stay in the Word and seek those things which are above and set our affection on things above and not on things on the earth, we shall experience the promised rest and peace of God.
The Word says, that the wicked have no peace and shall never find rest for their soul.
That’s because, they don’t know God and are separated from God and live in enmity and disunion with God.
And as long as they keep avoiding Jesus Christ and don’t acknowledge and accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God and don’t believe in Him as the Saviour of their sinful nature and the Healer of their fallen state (broken state ) and Reconciler between God and man, and therefore don’t repent and become born again in Christ, they shall not have rest and shall not experience the peace of God in their lives (Read also: ‘The peace, Jesus restored between fallen man and God‘ and ‘Jesus restored the position of fallen man‘).
The carnal man tries to enter a state of rest and experience inner peace through means of human philosophies and carnal methods
People try all sorts of ways and use all kinds of natural means and methods, to find rest and inner peace. They apply (Eastern) religions, philosophies, methods, and technics, like mindfulness, meditation, yoga, massage therapy, acupuncture, Reiki, etc., and do all kinds of things to experience rest and inner peace in their lives.
Even people, who claim to be Christians, but are not truly born again and have not crucified their flesh in Christ, apply this worldly knowledge, wisdom, methods, and technics in their lives, to enter a state of rest and experience inner peace.
They not only get involved with these occult practices, but they even promote these occult practices and bring these occult practices into the church.
Since many churches are world-like and are spiritually asleep and don’t possess the discernment of spirits, they allow these occult practices in the churches and defile the churches with these occult practices.
And so these wolves in sheep clothing, who belong to the devil and serve him, enter the churches and mix the faith with the world by Christianizing these pagan doctrines and practices.
They put the word ‘Christian’ in front of these pagan doctrines and practices and mislead many believers with their pious words, which seem credible to them, and by quoting Scriptures from the Bible, which are taken out of context.
Some even claim that these occult pagan practices come from God and that God is the Inventor of these carnal doctrines, methods, and technics and say that the world has copied them from God.
Why do so many people believe the lies of the devil?
Unfortunately, many people believe these lies and are misled by these wolves in sheep clothing, because they are worldly and carnally minded, just like them, and are looking for alternatives for the things of this world, and because they do not know the Word personally and therefore they don’t know the will of God.
They love the world and want to do the same things as the world and because the word ‘Christian’ is in front of it, they think that it’s ok to practice and that it can’t hurt and that God approves it. But when people, who claim to be Christians, approve of these pagan doctrines and practices, doesn’t mean that God also approves these pagan doctrines and practices. God is very clear in His Word about pagan practices and the world (Read also: ‘Can you separate the spiritual from Eastern philosophies and practices?).
And so the devil has acted upon the will, wishes, and desires of carnal Christians and originated a.o. Christian meditation, Christian mindfulness, Christian body scans, Christian massage therapy, trigger-point therapy, Christian yoga, and established Christian spiritual wellness centers, so that people, who claim to be Christians, can experience the same wellness treatments like the world, but only under other names.
They think they have found alternatives for mindfulness, meditation, yoga, massage therapy, acupuncture, reiki, etc., and that they can practice it without any spiritual danger and without feeling guilty towards God.
However, the spiritual aspect is still connected to these carnal philosophies, practices, technics, and methods, whereby they shall not help them to find rest and to experience inner peace, instead, they shall experience more anxiety, turmoil, mental anguish, and chaos in their lives.
They can believe and think whatever they want and ease their conscious by believing that it’s spiritually harmless, but the ruler of this world is a liar and what he promises is not true, but a lie. And because many are not truly born again and don’t walk after the Word and the Spirit and don’t discern the spirits, but are carnal, they believe the devil’s disguised lies and enter his crooked ways and think they will get what they want and what is promised to them. But they shall receive the exact opposite from him.
What happens when you become involved with the darkness
The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace (Isaiah 59:8)
Everyone, who becomes involved with doctrines and practices that derive from the kingdom of darkness becomes involved with the devil. Instead of rest and peace, the turmoil, anxiety, and mental anguish shall only increase and by allowing the powers of darkness into their lives, they will be brought further into destruction and eventually be destroyed
The people shall become lukewarm towards Jesus Christ and the things of the Kingdom of God and shall allow sin (sexual uncleanness, adultery, fornication, idolatry, etc.) and persevere in sin.
Besides that, they shall become unhappy, worried, rebellious, agitated, angry, down-casted, rushed, stressed, and experience depression, insomnia and shall blame God, the people, the surroundings, and/or situations, while they are responsible for their own actions and the fruit of their actions (Read also: ‘What you sow you will reap’ and ‘Stop blaming God!’)
Instead of walking on the way of God, they have entered self-chosen ways and, just like the world, refuse to lay down their flesh by faith and regeneration in Christ and to put off the old man and to put on the new man. Therefore, they will experience the same mischief as the world.
The Way to enter God’s rest and experience the peace of God
But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God (Galatians 6:14-16)
There is only one Way to enter God’s rest and to experience the peace of God, which passes all understanding, and that’s through Jesus Christ and by faith and regeneration in Him and by putting off the old man (flesh) and putting on the new man (spirit).
Only through regeneration in Christ you can become a son of God and see and enter the Kingdom of God, whereby you no longer belong to the devil, since you have laid down your flesh.
In Christ, you have become a new creation. Therefore, you shall no longer live, the way you lived before, when the devil was your father and you did the will and desires of your father.
But now that you have become a son of God and belong to God and made a choice to follow Jesus Christ, you shall do the will of God.
This means that it’s no longer your way but His way, no longer your thoughts but His thoughts, not your truth but His Truth, not your words but His words, not your opinion but His opinion, not your will but His will.
Regeneration and following Jesus, means a complete surrender and submission to Jesus Christ; the Word.
Jesus was fully yielded to the Father and spent much time with the Father. Jesus spoke the words of the Father and learned from the Father and did what He had seen the Father do. And so Jesus walked in the Name of His Father after the Spirit in His will.
The words of Jesus are spirit and live and bring forth peace
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life (John 6:63)
They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly (Amos 5:10).
The world didn’t receive Jesus Christ, because the words Jesus spoke testified of the evil works of the wicked (a.o. John 7:7)
Jesus said, His words are spirit and life, but for many, the words of Jesus were not spirit and life and didn’t bring forth peace but the opposite. Because His words meant the death of their flesh and its works. And since many were not willing to lay down the works of the flesh they rejected Jesus and His words. And that’s still the case.
Because of the fact, that only a few people are truly born again and lay down the flesh and walk after the Spirit, which means to walk according to the Word in the will of God, only a few will truly enter God’s rest and experience the peace of God in their lives.
Many people think that they have entered God’s rest, but in reality, they have not. Because if they would truly have entered God’s rest they would experience the peace of God and the joy of God in their lives.
But many don’t experience the peace of God and the joy of God in their lives, but live in fear, turmoil, distress and are worried, angry, down cast and experience anxiety, stress, depression, etc.
And because they refuse to follow the way of the Word and follow Jesus Christ and become born again and put off the flesh, they rely on the wisdom and knowledge of the world and try to obtain rest and inner peace in their lives through natural means and by applying Eastern philosophies, carnal technics and methods.
But Jesus Christ is the Only Way to enter God’s rest and to experience the peace of God. There is no other way! If someone comes with another doctrine and another way that deviates from the Word, then the church should reject that doctrine and that way, instead of allowing it in the church (Read also: ‘Is there only one Way to eternal salvation? and ‘Doctrines of devils are killing the church‘).
The grace and peace be multiplied through the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord (2 Peter 1:1-2)
And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7)
If you have entered God’s rest by faith and regeneration in Christ, you shall experience God’s peace and you shall stay in God’s peace by staying faithful to God and by abiding in the Word and by walking after the Spirit and by seeking those things which above, where Christ is seated, instead of seeking the things on this earth.
Through your personal relationship with God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit and your experiential knowledge of God and Jesus Christ, our Lord, the sanctifying grace and peace shall be multiplied unto you.
‘Be the salt of the earth’
