Recently someone said that they were having a hard time making a decision. They said that they didn’t have “peace” about the direction they ought to go. As I looked at the options, I wasn’t sure that either choice was wrong. In other words it wasn’t a moral issue. What is this peace thing that Christians sometime seek when making important decisions? It sounds like some kind of divine affirmation that one feels. In your view does the Holy Spirit somehow do something extra in us to verify what we decided to do was correct? If we make the wrong choice is there an opposite to peace that we somehow sense?

Let me confess that I’ve never asked God for “peace” when faced with a difficult decision. Am I missing something? My normal course of action would be to ask God for wisdom. I also ask others whose wisdom I trust to offer advice. Then I make the call. Sometimes I feel good about the choice I made and find out later that I should have gone the other way. Sometimes my choices leave me feeling anxious and everything turns out fine. I suspect that there is another agenda being fulfilled. It seems to me (just my opinion) that people who seek peace from God to verify their choice are really looking for a sign from Him. Since the Spirit of God resides within us doesn’t it make more sense to trust the decision making ability He has already placed within us. It doesn’t seem like there is room for faith in looking for this peace I’ve heard about. If God provides divine validation of a decision, how does faith apply? Is there an example of this “peace” in the New Testament? I don’t think there is. I’m also trying to figure out the point of wisdom if God provides “peace” to verify choices.

I looked thru a concordance and read all the passages that have the word peace in them. I’m sure my search was not exhaustive since I was looking up English words. In the Old Testament peace means the absence of war. It also says peace is the result of righteous living. Most passages were in Psalms. In the New Testament “peace” means something a bit different. We are at peace with God because of the work of Jesus on our behalf. We have peace because of His righteousness. In other words I have peace regardless of how I feel. I can’t find an example of a New Testament personality who asked God for “peace” to shore up his decision. So where did this “peace” concept come from? Is it real? I don’t think so. I think it’s a weakness. It’s a way to keep from trusting the regenerated and good heart God has placed within us. But that’s just me talking. What do you think?

Caleb