There are many forms of false peace. Misunderstanding the facts can cause a sense of tranquility, but it is false. Sometimes we mistake the absence of conflict as the presence of peace. But that false peace quickly vanishes in the face of opposition and hardship. Relief is often thought to be peace. Relief can come even when making bad decisions. A vacation can give you relief, but when you return to work the problems will still be there.
The word for peace in the New Testament is very similar to the word He-brew word shalom. It can be translated as tranquility, healing, prosperity, or any number of desirable situations. The peace of God is more than a tranquil state of mind. It is a tranquil state of mind that comes from knowing all your needs are met.
We are not simply look for a tranquil feeling to know when to launch. The New Living Translation says it very well. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts (Colossians 3:15). We don’t just want peace. We want the peace that comes from Him!
The phrase “let the peace of God rule” could be translated as “let the peace of God umpire!” An umpire declares you safe or out. The umpire is the final word evaluating the event. It will be the peace that comes from Him that gives us our freedom to launch!
Getting peace from Him about a plan doesn’t come because we make plans and then pray. I want to lay my plans out before Him. In His presence, I want to think about, visualize, or verbally talk my plan through. I want to know how my heart feels while I am in His presence. In his light, we have light. As I lay out my plan in His presence, He can shine the light of omniscient wisdom onto my every thought.
Proverbs 16:3 says, Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established. As I commit my plan to God, in His presence, not before or after I am in His presence but while I am in His presence, He can establish my thought. He can redirect, teach, and correct. More than anything, though, as I lay out my plans in the presence of a holy God, I can feel His peace about every aspect that I expose for His approval. His peace will be the umpire who declares my plan safe!