The Promise of True Peace

Entering God’s Rest

Joyce Meyer
5 min read
The Promise of True Peace

I don’t know about you, but when I’m anxious, upset, worried or fearful, I don’t think there’s anything I want more than peace. It’s one of the most precious gifts God has promised His children. I know, because for many years of my life I was upset about my circumstances, and it made me miserable. But as I began to read and study God’s Word, I started to hunger after His supernatural peace. I learned that we can come to a point in our lives where we can live in God’s rest and feel His peace every single day.

I think it’s important to understand that we’ll never experience God’s rest if we’re waiting for our circumstances to change. I used to believe peace had to do with everything going on around me. I thought, If I could just resolve this situation, I could finally have some peace in my life. If my husband, Dave, would change, then maybe I would have peace. Or, As soon as my kids leave home, then we’ll finally have peace. Any of these sound familiar? When life gets stressful and we start to feel anxious, we can focus on Jesus, the greatest example of living in peace that we could ever hope to follow.

Let Jesus Be Your Guide

Can you imagine Jesus being frantic about anything? I think it’s fascinating to look at how Jesus handled things and how He responded to the pressures and demands of other people. He did many things, but they were all done from a place of rest. He never hurried, and He never seemed frustrated or upset during any situation. We can easily see that Jesus dealt with the challenges of life with a peaceful attitude.

For example, Jesus and His disciples got into a boat to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. As they were sailing, Jesus went to sleep in the bottom of the boat, and while He was sleeping a storm of hurricane proportions came down on them. His disciples were so frantic that they woke Him and said, “Master, Master, we are about to die!” Instead of panicking Himself, Jesus got up and calmed the wind and the waves (see Luke 8:22-25 AMP).

Jesus showed this same peaceful attitude in many other circumstances throughout Scripture. He simply walked away from people when they came together intending to throw Him off of a cliff because of His teaching (see Luke 4:28-30). Other times when He was falsely accused, He didn’t even answer His accusers (see Mark 14:56-61).

Jesus offers us this same peace He demonstrated throughout His life. In John 14:27 (AMP) Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.”

Entering God’s Rest

The Bible teaches us that we will have peace when we enter the rest of God. In Hebrews 4:3 it says, For we who believe [that is, we who personally trust and confidently rely on God] enter that rest [so we have His inner peace now because we are confident in our salvation, and assured of His power]...(AMP).

This rest is available, and we are encour¬aged to enter it. But how do we “enter God’s rest”? We enter it by believing His Word and by trusting in Him instead of ourselves or someone else.

Now the meaning of the word “rest” here comes from a Greek word that means a rest in work, not a rest from work. It’s not inactivity—it’s partnering with God to do what He’s calling you to do by His grace, in His strength, and leaving the part you can’t do in His hands, trusting Him to do it.

For example, when I teach at a conference, in a way I’m working. But it’s not really hard for me because I trust God for everything I’m going to say. My part is to study and prepare and then I have to trust God to do His part. When I believe and trust God, I have complete rest in Him.

The same is true for you. When you’re resting in God, you can trust God in your circumstances and not work to try to figure everything out. He’s going to do His part to take care of you no matter what. You may not know how He’s going to do it or even when, but He’s got the answer. Our part is to put our trust in Him.

Take It to Jesus

Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28 to come to Him and He will give us rest. Jesus is the “Prince of Peace” (see Isaiah 9:6), and as we spend time with Him in His Word, through prayer or by simply sitting quietly in His presence, He gives us His peace and rest.

When we feel anxious, it’s easy to panic and allow fear to take over. That’s when we need to slow down, get still and focus on Jesus. One of the greatest things about God is that He’s always just a prayer away, available any time of the day for us to cry out to Him for His peace, strength and help.

We were never promised a trouble-free life, but Jesus said we can live above our circumstances. With His grace and wisdom, we can deal with stress and trouble and maintain a good attitude. His rest is a rest we can have in our souls—our mind, will and emotions. And He wants you to experience it every single day of your life.