Peace Be Unto You
Today is a good day. You may not realize it or agree, but it is a good day.
It’s not every day I get to write a peaceful address. More often than not, my prose is heavy, and I, its penman, must bear the weight of that burden.
But what is an ox without a yoke? A fisherman without a bag of fish? A writer without a pen?
They say the pen is mightier than the sword, but I say the pen is the sword, for it is the word written in ink and blood, held by only the strongest believers.
To those who bear this weight: peace be unto you.
We get so caught up in the heaviness of the Word of God, which is of no surprise given one cannot simply dive into God’s eternal ocean of revelation and not feel like they’re drowning.
God is many things: deep, overwhelming, eternal, and endless. At times, I feel like no matter how much I do for Him, it will never be enough. No matter how long my life is, it’ll never amount to His.
Peace be unto you.
If you’ve had this thought, do not give in to the anxiety that it brings and is birthed from its existentialism, but instead, take the thought and fear the Lord as opposed to it as you push on.
Peace be unto you.
God is our guide. He takes us through the depths of His word, provides us with revelation, and gives us the strength to wield the sword. He does, not us.
Peace be unto you.
John twenty, verse nineteen says, “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.”
After weeks of being held up where Jesus commanded the disciples to go, facing doubt, anxiety, and fear, Jesus arrived with a simple message: peace be unto you. Yet, as simple as it was, it bore repeating, for in verse twenty-one, God says, "Then said Jesus to them again, peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”
Fear is a terrible thing, and depending on its master, it can be used for good or evil. Evil presents fear when threatening our lives, similar to how the Jews threatened the disciple's lives. We feel fear and anxiety in many situations, from our jobs, our partners, our everyday life, and for some, that moment in the witching hour when something goes bump in the night.
Who is your master? If it is Christ, peace be unto you.
We are not given a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind. Verse twenty-two says, “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, receive ye the Holy Ghost:”
The Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, is God, Christ, who is the Word made flesh to dwell among us, dwells within us, His chosen temple, of which he is delighted to dwell. He is that same spirit, the characteristics of a Christian being unfolded in the five-fold ministry.
The pastors, teachers, apostles, prophets, and evangelists of God, all filled with the Holy Ghost, are given authority over the dominion of this world.
Peace be unto you.
Verse twenty-three says, “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.”
There is a portion of the authority we are given on this earth. We, the sons and daughters of God, are many things: friends, comforters, lovers, fishers, workers, and peacemakers, and the peacemakers are blessed, along with the rest.
Be ye peacemakers, for as peace was given unto us in the form of Christ, give to those who prevail, fear, suffer, and are lost. This peace is not for us to harbor but to sail the oceans of man and give unto the fish of whom we are fishers.
Peace be unto you.
Do not be filled with fear, but be filled with the Holy Ghost. Do not hide the ship of Christ, but sail the ocean as fishermen. Do not be yoked by the devil, but take on the yoke of Christ.
If peace is yours, then it is yours to give, acting as the representatives of Christ, identified in the Word and walking through the world, not as a child who wields a sword it cannot carry, but as men and women who are trained—well-versed in the Word, having the spirit that giveth life.
Thank God for His tutors and governors.
Do you hear the eagles cry? Have you heard Elijah’s voice in your time? Do you soar, coming up higher, or carry a burden-filled religion that keeps you grounded? Are you afraid to do greater things than what you do, convinced by the comfortability of the devil that enough is simply enough?
There is no such thing as doing ‘enough’ for God. We must do all we can for Him, and though He takes His time to build us up, humbling us, perfecting us—the saints, to His will, we should not contribute to the counterproductivity of the production of God, producing us through Christ.
A relationship goes both ways.
Our lives are not our own. We’ve been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ and owe everything to him, who is God, made flesh. Though our time is limited, and so much of it has been, quote: ‘wasted,’ God multiplies our time. With what we’ve been given, we will do more than we could ever imagine, not on our own accord, but on the foundation of Jesus Christ. ‘Wasted’ time is not only redeemed but multiplied with the time we have remaining.
If God’s word is heavy, exercise your faith muscles so that it is not so much so with the ultimate strength trainer that is God. Recognize your day, your time, your purpose. When this is done in Christ Jesus, you will recognize that today, regardless of the good or bad, blessings or curses, temptation or redemption, is not only a good day but your day.
Have exceeding great joy in your salvation that has been restored by the Lord, whom David gave this title to via the revelation of who He was to him:
The Lord of Lords and King of Kings, mighty God is He; saving me and keeping me from all sin and shame; wonderful is my redeemer, praise his name.
