“Jesus didn’t leave a material inheritance to His disciples. All He had when He died was a robe. But Jesus willed His followers something more valuable than gold. He willed us His peace. He said: ‘My peace I give to you; not as the world gives.’” [John 14:27 KJV]. – Billy Graham1
“Restlessness and impatience change nothing except our peace and joy. Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to wait trustfully and quietly on Him who has all things safely in His hands.” – Elisabeth Elliot
“The more humble and obedient to God a man is, the more wise and at peace he will be in all that he does.” – Thomas a Kempis
“God never asked us to meet life’s pressures and demands on our own terms or by relying upon our own strength. Nor did He demands that we win His favor by assembling an impressive portfolio of good deeds. Instead, He invites us to enter His rest.” – Charles Swindoll
“Peace does not dwell in outward things but within the soul; we may preserve it in the midst of the bitterest pain, if our will remains firm and submissive. Peace in this life springs from acquiescence to, not an exemption from, suffering.” – Fenelon
“The contradiction is resolved when you realize that for Jesus peace seems to have meant not the absence of struggle, but the presence of love.” – Frederick Buechner
“Our hearts are restless until they find peace in you.” – Augustine
“A great many people are trying to make peace, but that has already been done. God has not left it for us to do; all we have to do is enter into it.” – D. L. Moody
“The happy sequence culminating in fellowship with God is penitence, pardon, and peace — the first we offer, the second we accept, and the third we inherit.” – Charles H. Brent
“Great thoughts of your sin alone will drive you to despair; but great thoughts of Christ will pilot you into the haven of peace.” – Charles Spurgeon
“An unpeaceful mind cannot operate normally. Hence the Apostle teaches us to ‘have no anxiety about anything’ (Phil. 4:6). Deliver all anxious thoughts to God as soon as they arise. Let the peace of God maintain your heart and mind (v. 7).” – Watchman Nee
“If God be our God, He will give us peace in trouble. When there is a storm without, He will make peace within. The world can create trouble in peace, but God can create peace in trouble.” – Thomas Watson
“Because of the favor of God, we can have peace in the midst of chaos.” – Crystal McDowell
“What! At peace with the Father, and at war with His Children? It cannot be.” – John Flavel
“True spiritual peace is completely different from the superficial, ephemeral, fragile human peace. It is the deep, settled confidence that all is well between the soul and God because of His loving, sovereign control of one’s life both in time and eternity. That calm assurance is based on the knowledge that sins are forgiven, blessing is present, good is abundant even in trouble, and heaven is ahead. The peace that God gives His beloved children as their possession and privilege has nothing to do with the circumstances of life.” – John MacArthur
1 All of these quotes are from the websites below:
Peace That Doesn’t Flinch (Curt Blattman’s “Peace of God,” in street clothes)…
There are a few themes here that I’d like to summarize.
#1: Jesus didn’t hand you “calm circumstances.” He handed you Himself. Curt’s stack of quotes starts where it should. Jesus literally bequeaths peace, then clarifies it’s not the world’s version. The world rents you peace until the next siren, the next bill, the next betrayal. Christ gives a kind that isn’t on a leash.
#2: Peace lives inside surrender, not outside suffering.
Curt patiently and heartfeltly describes a nonetheless brutal truth: peace doesn’t move in because your life finally behaves. It moves in when the will bows. Elliot says restlessness changes nothing but your peace and joy, so wait on God like He actually has the wheel.
Fenelon goes further. Peace is preserved in bitter pain when the will stays submissive, because peace comes from acquiescence, not exemption.
This religion stuff is Not for the faint of heart.
Buechner nails the paradox. It’s not absence of struggle, but presence of love. Seems like peace is entered, guarded, and shared, not manufactured.
Swindoll’s line is basically a rebuke to the “try harder” religion. God didn’t ask you to meet life’s demands in your own strength. He invites you into His rest.
Moody says the same thing with a crowbar. People are trying to “make peace,” but it’s already been done, so enter it.
Then Watchman Nee points to the Christian style. Anxiety gets delivered to God immediately, and God’s peace stands watch over heart and mind.
And Curt doesn’t let this stay private. Flavel throws the elbow, peace with the Father and war with His children cannot coexist.
Seems like peace might be learned in the alley, more so than the library or cathedral. The peace Curt’s talking about is what shows up when the storm is still screaming outside, and somehow the inside of you stops screaming back. Watson describes it like God creates peace in trouble, while the world creates trouble in peace.
MacArthur gives it the theology spine. True spiritual peace is a deep, settled confidence that all is well between the soul and God because He’s sovereign, sins are forgiven, blessing is present, good exists even in trouble, and heaven is ahead, so circumstances don’t get to vote. (Try repeating all that in one breath).
Spurgeon adds the street-level steering. Stare only at your sin and you’ll drown. Stare at Christ and He pilots you into the haven.
Conclusion:
If your peace needs silence, money, and cooperation to survive, it’s not “the peace of God,” it’s a hostage note written by your circumstances.
thanks Mr. Blattman.