Great peace have those who love your law,
Psalms 119:165 (ESV)
and nothing can make them stumble.
What is God’s law? Jesus said that loving God and loving others are the greatest laws, for, “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:40, ESV). He also said, “If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15, ESV). If we love Jesus’ “laws” then we will have peace, in other words, our hearts will be calm and harmonious.
Remember that Jesus is our model and our source for the restoration of the image of God. We look to his life to learn what it means to be fully human again. So what kind of peace did Jesus have? He definitely had peace in his earthly life for he promised:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
(John 14:27, ESV)
So, we can have the peace that Jesus had, and still has. The peace he had was not an external peace without sadness or pain, but an inner peace born of his immersion in the Father’s love and power. We too will have sadness and pain and setbacks, but in all these things we can have peace if we love Jesus’ “laws”. So often we forfeit peace because of unbelief; we let our focus shift to our troubles and our faith in God fades. If we let our troubles drive us to abide in Jesus and his teachings, then we will have the peace of Jesus.
