The thermostat setting in Heaven is peace.
Peace is not the absence of trouble, war, sickness, pain, poverty, or persecution but it is the tranquil reliance on God in the midst of it. “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. / Trust in the LORD forever, For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength” (Isaiah 26:3-4 NKJV).
There is a peace of God that surpasses all understanding. There is a peace in God that can be found in no other. God has a peace for which the world has no equal.
There have been Christians who have been laid on the chopping block or carried to the gallows, who went with an abiding peace that defied all understanding. God has given peace in the hospital room, in the court room, in the board room, at the bedside, and at the graveside. God has given peace when some have shipped out to parts unknown knowing they might never see home again. God has given peace in the midst of howling storms and bellowing sails. God has given peace when the ship was going down. God has given peace on the fields of famine and the fields of war.
You can live in a billion dollar home and if you do not have peace you only have a big house—not a family. You can live in a mud hut and with God it can be a palace of peace. We have known of people who had wealth, popularity, honor, health, and great talent but who had a deficiency of peace; who ended their life at the end of a rope or the end of a gun.
Peace is a priceless gift which cannot be purchased or borrowed. It is a quantity and quality of tranquility in the soul and spirit which is given by God. It comes about by being properly related to God through His Son Jesus. It is the boomerang of faith and trust where we cast our faith and trust in Christ and God’s peace flies back to us. To those who have never felt its calm, it is a state that cannot be easily described. It is beyond understanding yet it comes to even the childlike among us.
Peace may be described as the absence of some things. It is the absence of turmoil when the world is raging mad. It is the absence of fear when the lion roars. It is absence of stress when time has run out. It is the absence of worry when no options are in sight. It is the absence of dread when we stand on the edge. It is the absence of futility when nothing seems to make sense.
Peace then is the presence of some things. It is a heart filled with hope when life’s page is blank. It is the fulfillment of life when only one breath is left. It is clear passage on a ship when the waves are un-sailable. It is one un-moveable rock to stand on when all around you is shifting sand. It is the loving arms of God holding you in His grip when the storm is raging. It the presence of Almighty God when there is nothing else left.
Peace has a twin sister called Hope and siblings of Grace, Mercy, Faith and Love; all whose Father is God.
Peace is gold when the world is bankrupt. Peace is all we have when there is nothing left but the promise of God. Peace is security when everything is falling apart. Peace is calm in a furious mob. Peace is quietness in a clamorous crowd. Peace is safety in a perilous land. Peace is the aura of God. Peace is the thermostat setting of Heaven.
”Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27 NKJV).
For the child of God, the peace of God will sustain us. When we die, the peace of God will be the last thing we feel. When we cross over into eternity, peace will be the first glorious wave that will overwhelm our being. The peace of God will be the cloud that carries us through endless ages of glory. And for eternity, the peace of God will be the breath of God we breathe.
Harry L. Whitt
Pathway Journey 