We continue from where we left off in the previous post on eating bread to the full. As part of the divine constitution in Leviticus 26, God promises us peace. The question for you and me today is this. How much peace are you enjoying, individually or nationally? Is anybody you know truly at peace? And if you can name some people, do you know what about them is different? Do you know why they have peace even when all around them are living in crises?
Though there have been several pictures of peace accords signing, hardly any region of the world is truly at peace. Despite several global bodies set up to bring peace, that condition remains elusive. Where to go and what to do? Well, God is always there for us, even though we do our best to pretend that we can live without Him.
The truth of the matter is that only within the constitution of God can we be truly at peace. We therefore do well to listen to God when He tells us the trigger for national peace. Verse 3 of our chapter says: “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them.” Sadly, from the beginning, man has found it hard to perform that simple sentence. We rationalize and try to reason God out instead of simply walking in His statutes.
Crisis Reigns Without God
Global organizations such as the United Nations set up their own statutes, hoping to achieve peace thereby. We even work for it, holding countless meetings and issuing several communiques. Look around you. Is any national or even any neighborhood truly at peace? You and I know the answer, but you may not know where to find the solution.
It is in Leviticus 26:5-6 “Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing. You shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. I will give peace in the land, (emphasis added) and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid. I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land.”
You have to love God. He knows that some national, even family leaders, are no better than beasts. Although our focus is on peace, let me mention my favorite portion of these two verses. I cheated a little by starting the quotation from there: “Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing.” That means your fridge or freezer will never be empty. As Jesus counseled, I will never have to pray for supplies, like the heathens who do not know Him.
God’s Family Members are Truly at Peace
Back to being truly at peace. You can go to sleep even if you forgot to lock your door. It used to be that we could leave our car doors unlocked in my university town, and the cars would be there in the morning. That is what you get when a community, or nation, lives under God. But when your leaders are tin gods, locking up does not equal living in safety.
At the start of this post, we asked ourselves what made those who live in peace despite the surrounding chaos different. The difference is Jesus, through whom you become a child of God. By now, you know that the promises of God are reserved for His family members, and not for the entire world.
When there is a crisis, and people start running to seek shelter, who do you save? Do you pull your children into your door with a lot of other people you do not know? No, you pull your child in and shut the door so they can go and find their own father. Sadly, many people, even in the church, are children, not of God, but of the devil. It means that although they are good people, they have not invited Jesus into their lives.
The reason this is so important to be truly at peace is that Jesus is the (only) Prince of Peace. There is no peace, individual or personal, outside of Jesus. You can search throughout eternity, but you will never find peace outside of Jesus. Invite Him into your life today and turn that crisis around. You will have peace.
Maranatha!
