Jesus, The Prince Of Peace

And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”  But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

—Matthew 8:24-26

 

What was the response of the disciples to the sudden storm that came upon them on the Sea of Galilee? They were filled with fear. They saw the wind and the waves, and that their boat was in danger of sinking. Then, they saw Jesus! How could He sleep when everything around them spoke of death? Shouting above the tumult, they woke Jesus up. His response was to rebuke the winds and the waves. A great calm came, and in that calm was peace.

 

Just like the disciples, uncertainties surrounding unfamiliar or unexpected situations can cause us to fixate solely on what we perceive. We can even fixate on all the potential negative outcomes. Look at the disciples. They were fixated on the storm, and they were convinced they would die. They were in total panic while Jesus was peacefully sleeping. Our doubts can quickly become an obsession, dominating our minds and spilling over into our mouths. 

“Lord, save us,” we cry out!  “Don’t you care we are persishing?”

The words we speak are powerful. The disciples spoke fear. But Jesus spoke peace. We must choose to speak life into our circumstances because the words we speak either produce life or death (Proverbs 18:21). 

 

If we think the worst, we prepare ourselves to receive the worst. When we declare our doubts, fears, and uncertainties, we speak exactly what the enemy wants to hear. When we don’t feel peace, the enemy immediately plays it to his advantage. He acts quickly to make sure we continue to believe our issues are bigger than our God. 

 

Peace is not an emotion. It isn’t something you feel. Peace is a person. His name is Jesus. He’s the Prince of Peace, who wants to rule your heart. You don’t have to feel peace (and often you don’t) before you speak the victory that is yours in Jesus Christ. Instead, you must remain confident in who the Word declares Him to be. You must remain confident about His promises regarding your circumstances.

 

The wind and the waves appeared to be certain death. However, Jesus was the answer. When our circumstances appear to speak death, we must look inside ourselves to Jesus, the Prince of Peace, who lives in our hearts. By telling our problems how big our God is and declaring His Word, we strip our circumstances of any power to control us. We must seek the Holy Spirit’s revelation of the Word to remind us of God’s truth and promises. Through the whole process of renewing our minds, our senses are trained to discern God’s truth and align us with the Word of God. 

The Lord has made His home in you. If you have a relationship with Jesus, the Prince of Peace, you have no reason to fear. But you must invite Him into all your circumstances and expect His promise to change what you entrust to Him. Let Him be in control of your emotions, bringing your thoughts into obedience to Christ. Continually choose God’s truth over what you see or feel or what others speak.

 

Jesus speaks death to your storm and life to you. The storm that rages hears Him. Do you hear Him? Do you trust Him?

Trusting God is peace. Trust doesn’t yield to your problem. It believes God has overcome it. The disciples didn’t need to yield to their fear of the storm. They needed to believe that Jesus, who was asleep and unconcerned with the storm, already had it under control. When a person is outwardly unconcerned about his circumstances, you can be sure that Jesus, the Prince of Peace is working deep within his heart.

When Jesus is Lord of all of me, I know that He’s the Lord of all that concerns me. I think on thinks that are pure, lovely, and of good report. His perfect love casts out fear. I follow His peace. He’s my wonderful counselor, mighty God, and my everlasting Father. He’s my Prince of Peace, who rules my heart.