Scripture | 2 Thessalonians 3:16 Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually give you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!
Observation | Throughout 2nd Thessalonians Paul is countering false teaching about the coming return of Christ. He is confident the faith of his brothers will not fail when faced with opposition. So in the end he leads them to trust in the Lord of peace. Here we learn that Jesus is the ruling and reigning master over peace. As our Lord Jesus is the only one who has the right and power to give peace to those who follow Him and also to take peace away from those who follow all other paths.
As we see in 2nd Thessalonians, even in church conflict and admits the turmoil of false teaching within, Jesus is still the Lord of peace. That is, since Jesus is the Lord of peace, those who serve Him as Lord can be given peace when there is no other source of it. We must be clear, “In every circumstance” doesn’t promise the absence of conflict. Yet, unlike man’s alleged source of peace in psychology with man-made solutions and drugs, real peace comes only from the Lord. His peace is incomparable to the empty cistern of all others, because His peace is divinely powered to calm a man even in most awful of conflicts. No amount of counseling can compare. No chemical can replace Him either. Should we think they would give peace when Jesus is the Lord of peace and we have turned to weak alternative to Him?
Jesus alone is the Lord of peace. Peace is His to rule and reign over. Any imitation will always pale and fail in comparison to trusting in His lordship. We can see the power of the Lord of peace in how the disciples would sing while in prison (Acts 16:25) and even rejoice after physical beatings (Acts 5:40–42). They were slaves who knew and trusted their Master well. They knew He was their Lord and the Lord of peace.
Application | To the glory of God, less and less do the calamities and troubles of externals cause me to wander from the Lord of Peace. Yet if I am honest in my review of my life, my peace still rests on my circumstances too often. The fear of and approval of man still disturb my peace greatly. I repent. I turn my spiritual gaze fully upon my Lord. It is only in Him that I will find true peace, by trusting Him alone, not man and not my circumstances.
Prayer | Father, I have failed to follow Jesus as the Lord of my peace. Lead me back to His will and His way that I might know more fully the peace that passes all understanding. Let me look to my circumstances as temporary opportunities to bring You glory by remaining in Your peace. Let me look beyond my circumstances to see eternity and the true value of each moment in increasing glory for You on the day of judgement. That both then and now I would have peace not for selfish pleasure and ease, but to magnify my trust in You. For Your glory alone. Amen.
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