Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. -John 14:27, NIV
I don’t know about you, but speaking for myself, my biggest desire at the moment is for peace. Peace for the world, definitely, but peace in my life as well. I believe we all are feeling angst and a bit uncertain as to what the future holds. We have come out of a world wide pandemic- or at least we are hopeful we have, but just when one difficulty passes, another seems to always take its place. It seems as if we are always on the edge of a cliff , or at the top of a roller coaster, about to plunge into the depths of difficulty, whether health, finances, war, or supply shortages.
As long as we live in the world and take a breath, this world will never be at peace for long. But, as noted in the verse above- our peace isn’t supposed to be found in this world. The peace the world gives is temporary. The peace of Jesus is different. It is His peace. But, what does that mean? In context, Jesus was addressing His disciples about events that were about to take place, namely His death, resurrection and ascension back to heaven. they were about to experience a lot of trouble- but He promised them it would be better. For He would be leaving them, but sending the Holy Spirit to comfort and teach them. We as believers also have this promise from Jesus with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when we accept Christ as Savior.
Jesus knew the disciples would be upset with His death and would probably not fully understand what was happening so He prepared them. If you want to read the passage in context, I suggest reading the entire chapter fourteen of John’s gospel.
Chapter 14 begins “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” This is a powerful verse. Too often I find myself letting my heart (and my mind) wander from peace and confidence to trouble. The kind of trouble that occupies my thoughts, choking out the peace, faith and confidence that Jesus offers. To get back on track, I stop, take a breath, and pray. Then I pick up my Bible and read God’s truth. And I am reminded that He has a plan for the world. A plan that restores the world to wholeness. To bring shalom. To heal the broken relationship between man and God. To heal the land. To heal creation that suffers as well. Real peace. Amen. God bless you – Nancy
Moving Forward 