Psalm 119:165; Great peace have those who love Your law, And [a]nothing causes them to stumble. NKJV.
Great peace have those who love Your law: If you love God’s word it means you do God’s word’s. Jesus says if you love me obey my commands (John 14:15; If you love me, obey[a] my commandments). So, there is a link between experiencing great peace and obeying God’s word
There is a link between doing God’s word and experiencing great peace. Bibe says when you submit to God completely the peace you will experience is qualified as great. The peace you will have, will not be small or ordinary but great. To further buttress the link between perfect submission to God and great peace from God permeating every dimension of your life, let’s consider the book of Isaiah 48:18, Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
Therefore if you want peace that transcends all human understanding to envelope all aspects of your life, you need to obey his commands, you need to be completely submitted to him.
Now Psalms 119:165 tells us that when you experience great peace from God, nothing makes you stumble. From a medical point of view some of the things that can make a man stumble or fall can be grouped into
- Balance problems
- Some medicines, which can make you feel dizzy, confused, or slow
- Vision problems
- Alcohol, which can affect your balance and reflexes
- Nerve problems
- Cardiovascular problems
- Muscle weakness, especially in your legs, which can make it harder for you to get up from a chair or keep your balance when walking on an uneven surface
Non-medical causes of a fall can include hazards in and around your environment e.g., slippery surfaces, uneven side-walks, icy surfaces. And I know that all these risk factors, both medical and environmental hazards can interplay together or act singly to cause someone to stumble as they walk or run. But God says to those who He gives great peace, absolutely nothing will cause you to stumble as you run or walk in life & destiny. No wonder Isaiah 40:31b says, “They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint”. Why? This is because God’s great peace is backing you up and supporting you.
Just as there are documented and scientifically proven medical and environmental factors at the realm of human wisdom that can cause the earthly part of man to literally stumble or fall as they walk or run. Likewise there are spiritual factors and hazards that the enemy uses which he knows has worked over the ages against men which when he brings to a man’s way will surely make them fall as he or she is walking or running into their destiny such as sickness, marital issues, financial storms, career/job issues and so on.
But God Almighty says that if such a man or woman love His law, which means to obey His word, submit to His will, no matter the spiritual factors thrown at you, because He has given you great peace, you cannot fall. That great peace that God gives you can involve for instance, Him instructing His Angels to bear you up in their hands so that you do not strike your feet on any stone the enemy puts in your path to make you fall (Psalm 91:11-12)
The AMPC of our text Psalms 119: 165 would add something extra in the “b” part if this verse; “nothing shall offend them or make them stumble.”
God says when that those He gives great peace, that nothing shall offend them. Notice that the great peace God gives to those who love His law won’t stop the offences from coming! Jesus said in Matthew 18:7a; “For offenses must come”. The things that make people sin will come against the man who loves His law but because of His great peace upon that man they will not fall.
Things that make people lose their faith will still come upon the man that loves His law but because of His great peace upon that man they will not fall.
Offenses that can cause a man to say “where is God in all these”, can still come against a man who loves His law but His great peace upon that man, will uphold that man and cause him not to stumble.
There is a link between a man whom nothing can offend & the deep mystery of brokenness
Jesus taught something important about the mystery of brokenness in John 12:24; Verily, verily I say unto you, unless a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (KJV)
He said a seed must be prepared to die if it wants to produce much fruit. In order for you to experience that peace that overflows, your earthly nature must be prepared to die to sin. You must die to your preferences.
You must die to your will. You must die to the need for men to approve you at the expense of God’s agenda. You must be prepared to die to your emotions if you must experience the peace of God that overflow. For example many homes of even Christians lack peace simply because one of the spouses or both have refused to die to their emotions for God’s peace to come in and reign in their homes. A husband or wife that is truly broken before God will not be fighting or arguing with their spouse! Because they know God’s words says do all things without complaining and arguing (Philippians 2:14). They understand that brokenness before God is the key to ensuring peace overflows in their homes & marriages. Divorces rates amongst Christians will be zero if couples-in-Christ learn and practise the mystery of brokenness before God.
The kind of men and women God loves to work with and use to accomplish mighty things are believers whom nothing can offend is seen in Psalms 34:18; The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
The Lord is always near those that have a broken heart and a contrite spirit. His peace is always near them.
In Psalms 51:17; The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise.
The human heart is naturally full of evil until it is broken before God. Brokenness is essential in our lives for us to experience His Power. Brokenness before God is essential in our lives if we are to also experience the mystery of His great peace in our lives. Having great peace in life can only be derived in a life that carries His presence continually. His presence is peace. When you have His presence, He blesses you with peace in every way. Consider 2nd Thessalonians 3:16; Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.
The opposite of brokenness is pride and arrogance before God first and then man. A prideful man or woman cannot experience great peace from God. There can be no meeting between a holy God and a proud heart. A broken heart is the true friend of God. It is those that are broken that He is near to. God is vast and mighty, He owns everything in the universe but yet the kind of people, the God of peace will choose to dwell with and cause to experience His great peace are people who live a life of brokenness. Isaiah 57:15; For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
You may have all the academic degrees in this life and have a bishopric title but you will never have a revival of peace in your life & family until you are humble & broken before Him.
Brokenness is simply total surrender to Him. It is willingness to fulfil God’s purpose for your life & family. When you are surrendered to God, you yield yourself to the will and control of God. Anything that God ask you to do, no matter how uncomfortable it is, a broken man says, Yes Lord.
When someone is saying something that really annoys you, your blood is “boiling” and you want to lash back! But a still voice, the voice of the Holy-Spirit in you says do not respond. You want to but because you are broken despite your emotional sate & pain you choose to yield to His leading. Or you have been praying and fasting and you want to break your fast, God says no, not yet continue the prayer. Even though you are hungry, you say yes Lord! And you put the food aside and obey His will.
People who are broken before God don’t steal, don’t back-bite, don’t watch pornographic things on TV or social media because they are surrendered to God. Without that true brokenness before God you cannot access that great power and peace, He wants you to have. How can you be indulging in sexual immorality for example and expect to experience the peace of God.
This is brokenness (something I learnt from daddy Benny Hinn’s teaching); Where your will crosses with the will of God like the cross of crucifixion but you choose God’s will (Just Like Jesus my saviour did). These are the kind of believers that carry God’s presence continually wherever they go. This are the kind of men or women that nothing including offenses will make them stumble like the bible teaches in Psalm 119:165. For such believers don’t just love God in words but they show it in action and behaviour by their complete surrender to God. These are the men & women that will enjoy the presence of God perpetually. These are the men and women of God who God blesses with great peace that overflows, which does not allow the vicissitudes of life to cause them to fall
A life of disobedience is one that will be outside the peace of God
A life outside of the presence of God, which is a life of disobedience, is a path no matter how glamourous it may be, is one devoid of peace from God. Even if a man has all the money in this world, he think he has peace but that peace is earthly. That peace will only end here on earth. That peace is linked & dependent on human comprehension/wisdom/logic. But the peace that God gives His children that walk in obedience to Him is beyond or transcends human comprehension (Philippians 4:7). Why? This peace that God gives is “spiritual”. It defies logic, it defies science, it defies natural laws. It’s a peace that is not time bound. It can go into a man’s yesterday, today and tomorrow and make everything more than ok in their life. Its not something you can easily explain using our limited human knowledge but when a child of God has it, he will know that this is the peace of God that flows like a rive because you can see the effects in ones life at the spiritual, mental & physical realm
However if you continue in the path of disobedience before God and continue the path of iniquity then you cannot experience this wonderful overflowing spiritual peace that God wants you to have.
Let us consider; Isaiah 59:8 NKJV
“The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.”
God was talking through Isaiah to the people of Israel, that if they took crooked paths (representing the path of disobedience) they cannot know or be blessed with peace from God.
Dear Brethren reading this article, could it be that the deficiency of peace in your life or marriage or some aspect of your life be that you are still following a crooked path. Allow the Holy-Spirit to do a self-examination in your heart and if He is convicting you on an area of your life where you are not broken before Him, please repent before Him and amend your ways or belief system to align to His word. And as you choose to follow His ways and love His laws (His words), I can certainly assure you that peace from God that overflows and never ceases will locate your life in Jesus Name.
God bless you in Jesus Name
Prayer: O GOD arise & help me to be broken before you, help me to obey Your leading always and as I do this Lord, let Your overflowing peace locate my life and family in Jesus Name
Feast of Light Global Ministry
