Having Jesus' peace doesn't mean you stick your head in the sand and pretend nothing is wrong. That's foolishness. The world calls it denial. No, you don't deny - you defy!

You defy that problem by facing it head-on with the name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus and the words of your mouth. Then, until the manifestation of your miracle appears, hook your faith into the peace of God and refuse to be troubled.

That peace doesn't come out of your mind though. You may decide with your mind, but that peace has to come from your heart. Peace is a spiritual force that comes straight up out of your heart. It's one of the fruits of the spirit.

Being at peace makes you an imitator of God. The devil doesn't have any peace - he's defeated, rejected and doomed. Don't imitate the devil!

I want you to notice that Jesus never said that trouble wouldn't come. He said you don't have to be troubled by it. When the devil says, "I'm going to trouble you today," I resist him.

Don't misunderstand me; I have many opportunities to be troubled and afraid. None of us enjoy going through trials, but that's not the issue. The Bible says that trouble will come, but it goes on to promise, "No weapon formed against you shall prosper."

It didn't say the weapon wouldn't be formed. In other words, the devil may launch a missile with a target on your head, but peace will keep you from having an anxiety attack when you see it coming! And faith will send it back like a boomerang to bust the devil in the head.

My Definition of Peace
My personal definition of peace is "possession of adequate resources." It won't matter what you're going through if you possess an adequate supply of faith. Do you worry about the light bill when you've got enough money to pay it for the year? No!

Do you worry about disease when the doctor just told you you're in the top five percent of healthy people in the world? No! Do you worry about your kid failing school when he just brought home a perfect report card? No!

Jesus said He would do what you ask. He said He is giving you His peace - that's supernatural calmness about every situation. That's trust. If you trust God when hell seems to be storming your gates, you're living in your God-given legacy!

If your heart is filled to overflowing with the Word of God, that peace will come right up out of your heart! You'll have a decision to make - to trust the peace or worry like the rest of the world.

Because I have adequate spiritual and natural resources, I'm not desperate for a miracle every day. But I know people who are.

"O Jesus! Jesus! Help me!"
Of course there's not a thing wrong with asking God for help, but if you'll build your faith for adequate resources, you'll be able to pray for someone else. John 15:11 explains why Jesus gave us His peace. "These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."

Jesus got personal again! He gave you His own personal joy! He gave you His own personal peace. Why? So our joy may be full. The Bible says that joy is the strength of God. So if peace is possession of adequate resources, then joy is the strength to operate in that possession. Re-read that and shout!

You've Got A Way Of Escape
If you're facing a situation that is screaming doubt and unbelief at you, turn to Isaiah 41:13, "For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee."

Can you trust God to take your hand and help you? When Jodi was little she couldn't walk as fast as I could, so I took her hand and helped her. "Come on, Jodi!" Her little feet would miss about eight steps before her shoe touched the ground and she'd laugh and go, "Weeee!"

That's exactly the kind of help God is talking about here. If you'll meditate on that verse and know with certainty that God is helping you, your situation won't be a struggle. You'll be able to fly a few steps further than you would on your own and you might even go, "Weeeee" in the process!

God was so concerned about helping you that He planned your escape before the foundations of the world. There was a meeting held between the three members of the Godhead: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost.

The Father announced that He planned to create a universe. The Holy Ghost kept the minutes. When they decided to create man, they knew ahead of time that mankind would mess up. They decided that they would need a redeemer, and Jesus volunteered for the position.

The Holy Ghost wrote in the Book: Jesus died for the sins of the world. They looked forward in time and saw the sickness that would try to kill you. Right then they spoke the end from the beginning. "By His stripes you were healed." They spoke the answer to all your problems. Then they adjourned the meeting.

Now, it's up to you to work within the system they created. That's the way it is and if you want to get what you need, you've got to work it!

The Devil Can't Surprise God
One of the tricks of the devil is to try and convince believers that God is caught by surprise by his attack on their lives. He whispers that God hasn't figured out what to do about your situation. He insinuates to you that God is sitting up in Heaven completely dumbfounded and has no idea what to do about your situation - like He's never encountered such a rough attack before. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Actually, God solved the problem before you were born. He's heard worse and seen worse, and done more fixing in people's lives than you may ever need. The only thing that will derail God's plan is if you get troubled by the trouble. Jesus left you that legacy of peace exactly for troubling times.

Philippians 4:7 says, "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." That verse says that you won't be able to understand the peace that God gives

And really, who cares if you understand it! Praise God you've got it! Peace is what keeps your heart from falling apart. It's what keeps your mind from going berserk when life sends you a curve ball.

Passing On Your Peace
One thing I've noticed about God is that He'll go the extra mile to help someone who is troubled. I didn't know what He was going to do when I hit something in the road and got a flat tire one fiery hot Louisiana day. Thank God I had a new tire in the wheel well, but it had been so long since I had a flat tire that I didn't know how to use the jack without reading the manual.

My knuckles were bloody, and I was dirty when I noticed a black man walking toward me.

"I'll show you how to use that thing without it beating you up," he said. "My wife's in the car. She's pregnant and it's Africa-hot out here. I don't have air-conditioning. There's a special jack that I need for my car, but it's at my aunt's house."

I knew what he was thinking, I'm gonna have to walk five miles to get that jack.

"Get your wife out of that hot car," I said. We were stuck on an overpass with 18-wheeler trucks whizzing past too close for comfort. When his wife waddled over to my car she had one thing on her mind - air-conditioning.

A New Era
After he helped me change my flat, I gave him and his wife a ride. When we got to his aunt's house, an old black man came out and said to me, "May I help you, boy?"

The man spoke up for me and said, "Grandpa, he ain't just a white man. We had a flat tire."

"I'm a preacher," I explained.

"I should have known with you driving such a fine car," the old man said. "Mind if I sit down in it?"

"No, sir, sit right here."

"I appreciate you helping my grandson," he said.

"Well, we helped each other."

"It's a new era," he said, more to himself than to me. "Let's forget the past, because both of us were wrong."

"And let's follow Jesus," I added.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"No, but thank you for asking. Do you know Jesus?"

"You mean personally?" He laughed and said, " To tell you the truth, I never met the man."

"Would you like to meet Him?" I offered. He gave me a bewildered look and kind of smiled.

"He'll come right here? To the car?"

"In the car, man."

About that time his wife arrived. "Honey, that's Reverend Jesse Duplantis," she said, and then turned to me. "I watch your show, and I've been praying for that heathen dog in your car!"

Hasn't God got a sense of humor? I got so tickled I could hardly keep a straight face.

"Get on him, Brother Jesse! Cast that lying, stinking devil out of him!"

"I've been with that woman for 60 years," the old man explained. "That's why I look like this."

"Pop, you need Jesus in your life," I said.

"I need something," he agreed.

"Let me pray for you." I was so close to laughing out loud that it was hard for me to pray. I put my hand lightly on his shoulder, though, and prayed. "Jesus loves you, Pop!" I said afterwards.

An Instrument Of Peace
I realized that he didn't have much peace in his life. I had no way of knowing what had happened, but he was troubled. There was no telling what he'd seen. They hung people of color in the not too distant past. It had been a terrible time in the South.

I turned to his wife. "Grandma, Jesus loves him!"

"It would take God to love him," she said with tears welling up in her eyes. "And so do I. I'm believing for him, Brother Jesse." I knew I would never forget that sweet old woman.

"I'll tell you what," I said, "I'll come by tomorrow to check on you." I don't do that often, but God saw their trouble and was reaching out to them with His peace. I liked being an instrument of peace.

They could hardly believe that I was going to come back to see them. They thought I was some kind of big preacher. I'm not. I'm just like you - working out my salvation with fear and trembling.

"How are you doing, Pal?" I asked the next day. I could already see a change. God was at work in that old man's life, and it was an awesome thing to see. He was taking away years of bitterness. I knew he'd been wronged, but I never asked him what happened. Why bring up the past? The past never sees the future.

You Can't Give What You Don't Have
Let me tell you something about peace. You can't give what you don't have. God saw what was troubling that old man. And He heard that Grandmother's prayers. He went out of His way to arrange a meeting between that man's grandson and me.

He orchestrated the whole thing. I could have been hollering and so irritated about the flat that I wasn't sensitive to the man's words about his wife. I could have never offered to bring them home and I would have never met the old man, never led him to Christ.

But I made a decision to live in my legacy, to let the peace of God rise up in my heart while changing that flat. And God used me as a result.

I'm grateful that Jesus left me a legacy of peace. I'm proud to have that kind of supernatural peace available to me - to be one with Jesus and have the Holy Spirit living inside me.

Jesus' peace makes a difference in my life. And that peace is as much yours as it is mine. Remember, each and every day you make a choice. You can live the legacy.

And, you can pass the legacy on to others too.

Copyright © Jesse Duplantis Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.