“And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:7

In the hands of a believer, peace is a lethal weapon. I often hear people say that God is not speaking and at first, I believed that this was so. After a while I began to realize that God is always speaking but the question is, are we really listening? One of the loudest way in which God speaks to us is through His silence. I know this may seem odd to hear, but it is true.

Have you ever experienced a parent’s silence? I have. I grew up with a mom who’s standard was like no other. It always seemed like she was extra hard on me. Growing up around my mom, I knew what her silence meant. At times it was her discipline or reprimand, other times it was her disapproval or disappointment, or her frustration and finally it was her way of saying “I have already spoken to you about this issue, I will not repeat myself.” When I was a child my mom’s silence never mattered that much to me, but as I grew older I realized that at times her silence did more to me than her words could.

When I was a new believer, the silence of my Father was not detrimental to me, as I grew older and closer to Him, just like my mom I began to realize that His silence says more than I can ever imagine.  As I began to learn the heart of God for me as Father, I came to understand that because of the Good Parent that He is, He never desires for us to be without instructions, guidance and protection. God’s heart for us is never that we grope around in the dark wondering what to do. It is His good pleasure to give us counsel on every area of our life, to instruct us in the right path and to ensure that our steps are always ordered in righteousness. So even when He is silent, I know He is speaking, He speaks through my peace.

Where There Is No Peace

One of the main reason the Holy Spirit dwells in us is so that the guidance and counsel of God will never leave us. If we are to live in the spirit, then we must be led by the spirit. Even when I do not hear the voice of God speak audibly or if I don’t hear a specific word on a matter, the Holy Spirit is my guide and He often speaks through my peace.

A few weeks ago, I offered to help a family member with her trip to Canada. All the plans were in place and I was happy to be able to assist her with her journey, but I had no peace. In my mind I thought, well I am doing something good so what could this feeling be? I brushed it aside and cast it off as being just my mind. Weeks went by and still no peace, in fact I got even more anxious. I could not understand it. I was helping someone in need, what could be the cause of this unsettled feeling? I thought to myself. When the discontentment became too much to bear I decided to seek God on it. I didn’t expect to get any real answer to contradict what I was doing because in my mind, I was doing a good thing. When I questioned the Lord about it, the answer I got shocked me, He said that I was to retract my invite. What?? That makes no sense God! To be sure it was God speaking, I waited for a while and prayed on it, but the answered remained the same. With a bit of reservation and nervousness, I called my relative and retracted my invite and the moment I ended the call, I had complete peace. It was the peace that truly surpassed my understanding.

I remember God saying to me, “Lean not on your own understanding, just trust me.” I was so floored by this whole experience because I was doing a good thing, right? But did you know that something may seem good and its not God? It may even seem like the “right thing” to do in your eyes and it’s not God. Not every seemingly good thing is a God thing.

I learnt that many times what seems like “an open door” could be a distraction from the enemy, we must be able to accurately discern the difference because the wolf comes in sheep clothing.

I remember the Lord said to me, “if you do not hear me speak on a matter, check your peace.” He said, “that feeling of discomfort and discontentment in your spirit, never forget it, no matter what happens, or who comes, if you are not at peace, seek me deeper, wait, listen and do not move.”  The peace of God is provided by the Holy Spirit to Guide us into all truth.

If you are without peace, you may be in deception, in ignorance or in error about an issue, seek God and be open to hear the truth.

Truth is not always comforting but it is always liberating