How to Have Peace
Peace is a precious gift, yet many people don’t have it. They’re stressed about today, worried about tomorrow, and regretful of the past.
Their lack of peace is peace is understandable. We live in an age of anxiety. Trials and troubles afflict us all and who knows what tomorrow may bring?
We all crave peace, but where do we get it? Some religions tell you that peace comes from within, from stilling yourself and letting go.
Yeah, right.
I don’t know about you, but I have never been able to generate lasting peace. I can fake peace, but not for long. Often, I feel like I’m a little boat riding on a tempest.
The good news is we can have peace. Here’s how.
How to have peace
In Romans, Paul says some wonderful things about peace, such as:
Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. (Romans 15:33)
In a world troubled by fear and anxiety, God releases his shalom-peace. Peace does not come from ourselves. It comes from the God of peace who releases peace and joy by making broken things right and all things new.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father… (Romans 1:7)
The peace you and I both need comes from God our Father and we receive it by receiving his grace. Grace encompasses all of God’s blessings, while peace is the fruit of receiving his grace.
Don’t let this nugget pass you by. Peace is a gift to receive, not something to manufacture. Sadly, this is a truth many people do not know.
…the path of peace they have not known. (Romans 3:17)
Paul quotes Isaiah when he says humanity’s history is a woeful tale of injustice, oppression, and violence. Humanity seems stuck in an endless cycle of conflict and trouble. We pillage creation to fuel our lust for more. We tread on those who get in our way and we steal and kill to get what we want. If only there was a way to break the cycle.
Peace follows righteousness
In the old covenant, people prayed that God would bless and give them peace (Num. 6:24–26). In the new covenant, that prayer is answered. The Son reveals that God the Father has blessed you and given you his peace.
The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17)
In the kingdom of God, peace always follows righteousness. When we submit to the righteousness of God, our spirits abound in peace and joy.
The problem is that many people don’t submit to God’s righteousness. They don’t submit because they have not heard about the righteousness of God, which brings peace.
In context, Paul was talking about strife in the church and different viewpoints regarding meat and Sabbath keeping (see Rom. 14:1–5). When the peace of God rules our hearts, we will not be troubled by a brother or sister who has different convictions about food and special days. We will not look down on them as weak or inferior, but we will accept them and seek to build them up in the faith (Rom. 14:19).
Finally:
…the mind set on the spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:6)
If your mind is full of worldly concerns—your appearance, political intrigue, magazine gossip, job security, the doctor’s report—you will be anxious and depressed. But fill your mind with your Father’s good thoughts towards you, and you will be at peace.
Blessed are the peacemakers
Do you know the peace of God? If so, you have something to the world desperately needs.
We make peace by proclaiming the gospel of peace and revealing the way of peace, which leads us to the God of peace who gives us life and peace.
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If you liked this, you will love my new verse-by-verse commentary on Romans.
Escape to Reality 
I’ve read, memorized and meditated on Phil. 4:6-7 for years. Recently, God told me, “You stopped too soon. Keep reading.” Then it hit me: All these years, I’ve prayed and given problems to God, but worry still consumed me and I had no peace.
Well, DUH! That’s because I only practiced two-thirds of the remedy! I neglected to set my mind on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, commendable, etc.
Thank you to tell about peace because in my country it has war and we don’t know how to finish it many people are killed many other we to the refugies camp so we live difficulty and then if to gether we can see how we can do for making peace in this part of our country may God bless you
This is such an important topic. I think we don’t have peace if we don’t really believe that God can and will do what he promises to do. It is as easy and as difficult as convincing ourselves in our hearts, not our minds, that God is greater that any problem we face. All our needs, financially, health wise, protection etc has already been provided through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. If we focus on the issues facing us and make them bigger that God, we will not have peace. Conversely, if we meditate on the nature of Jesus, that He is grace, that He is faithful, that He loves us, and the fact that all the promises of God are yes and amen in Jesus, then we will have peace. But we have be convinced or these thing in our hearts not our minds. So we should take time to convince our hearts.
Dear Paul,
Thank you for your grace-filled teaching. I’m 58 years old and have struggled with religious OCD since childhood—especially bargaining thoughts and promises to God. These often sound like: “If this happens…” or “If I succeed with this, I’m saved… if not, I’m eternally damned for hell.” I know it’s not logical, but the fear feels overwhelmingly real.
These thoughts come almost as a reflex I can’t control—fast, repetitive, and deeply distressing. I’ve had therapy and been advised to ignore them, but it’s hard when I still see this behavior as sinful. I’ve lived a lifetime of countless sins and broken promises, and I often feel ashamed—even wondering if I’ve gone too far and condemned myself to hell.
This anxiety is taking so much from me. I often fall into a cycle of repetitive asking for forgiveness and trying to fix things with God, which in the long run only makes the anxiety worse. It affects my ability to be present as a husband and father, and it steals the peace of simply resting in Jesus.
Yet in recent years, something has shifted. My faith in Jesus has grown. Where I once feared approaching God, I now clearly see Jesus as my Savior. I believe I’m eternally saved—not because of my performance, but because of His grace.
Your writing has helped me hold to that truth. Still, I feel stuck at times.
Do you have any further guidance for someone like me—who trusts in Jesus, but still battles these thoughts every day?
Gratefully,
Magnus
I trust you realize these unwanted thoughts are not from you or your heavenly Father. They are lies designed to distract you and make you anxious. You can’t choose what you think, but you can choose what you believe. When these lies enter your mind, refute them with the truth. Don’t stay silent, answer back! Don’t focus on yourself and your shortcomings. Focus on God and his blessings. Fill your mind with praise. Be like David and worship the Lord, perhaps with psalms (eg: Ps 3, 23, 34, 103, 121).
There is a battle going on in your mind and it is a battle you can win. I highly recommend you check out Joseph Prince’s book, The Power of Right Believing.
Yep, that Joseph Prince book is powerful. I’ts now translated in many languages also in all Scandinavian languages aswell. I recommend it too. 🙂
That article is so good! I’ve heard in past how my church teached this verse but always forgetting mention the nr1 thing…Righteousness, which is every believers ID right? Made right FOREVER through Jesus blood and now my punishment is on Him (Isiah 53:5) which trades me un-deserving PEACE eternally as a gift!?Im writing this comment for my self actually 🙂
Paul, you say that peace comes from God our Father and we receive it by receiving his grace. And that grace encompasses all of God’s blessings, while peace is the fruit of receiving his grace. Since peace is the fruit of receiving God’s grace, it means that it is essential that I really need to learn how to receive God’s grace. But I don’t know how to do that. How does one practically receive grace? Do you just tell yourself that you are receiving it? I could really do with some help here.
Receiving is the opposite of giving. It’s resting instead of striving, trusting instead of trying. I touch on the issue of receiving in this article.
Regarding finding peace in this very good article by Dr. Ellis, I saw a bumper sticker the other day using NO and KNOW as examples of homophones in relation to peace:
NO Jesus, NO Peace
KNOW Jesus, KNOW Peace!
Without a true personal relationship with Jesus, there can never be true peace!