DISCERNING GOD'S WILL THROUGH PEACE

Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always].  Colossians 3:15 (AMP)
God's peace is given to us as a gift which He intends for us to use as a major discerner of His will for our lives on a day to day basis. Colossians 3:15 describes God's peace as 'the controlling factor in your hearts'. 
While we may seldom hear God's voice audibly, peace is a state of our heart that we can usually clearly identify. Perhaps this is why God has chosen this fruit of the Spirit as the internal compass for His children to use in walking in his will.
Since we have established that God's peace guides us in following his will, we can also conclude that the abscence of His peace usually indicates that we have gone out of His perfect will. The prescence of anxiety, anger, or depression in our hearts should be warning signs for us to promptly examine our ways. Have we been walking in the flesh and not in Grace? Have we been walking in rebellion and not obedience?
Isaiah 26:3 says "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You".
The verse above speaks of our mind being 'stayed' on God because of our trust in Him. God's promise of peace is hinged on this. This 'staying' of our minds is a continous lifestyle of keeping God's word and His promises in our consciousness on a daily basis. The reward of this is not just peace but perfect peace.
As we stay our minds on God's word, we begin to develop what the Bible calls a Spiritual Mind. One of the hallmarks of a Spiritual Mind is peace. Romans 8:6 says "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace". Hence we can see that, while God's peace is a gift (John 14:27), it is also a fruit that only grows in a spiritual mind.
In conclusion, it is important for us to understand that learning to be led by the peace of God is something we get better at with practice. Hebrews 5:14 states that "Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong."
Let us never get discouraged if we miss that mark or make mistakes in discerning God's leading. The more we keep his word and promises in our minds and trust in Him, the more we will know His peace. Then if we ever go out of alignment of His will, we will be better at discerning the abscence of His peace.