My Peace I give you!

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14: 27, NKJV

Dear Lord, You are our Peace, and we are waiting to be blessed by Your Word.  Please speak peace to our hearts.  Amen

We live in a world that is anything but peaceful.  On every hand, we see, and hear of “wars and rumors of wars.”  Yet in the midst of it all, Jesus promises us peace.  There is a true saying, that no one can give what they themselves do not possess.  Jesus could promise us peace, because He had peace within.

We saw this peacefulness exemplified in His life while He lived on earth.  Jesus and His diciples were making their way toward the eastern shore of Gennesaret.  Suddenly, a storm arises and threatens to swallow the boat with Jesus and his disciples.  In the midst of the howling winds, and furious waves, Jesus is sleeping peacefully in the stern of the boat!  He is awakened by cries of despair.  After calming His terrified disciples, He calms the turbulent sea. 

Jesus warns us that the peace He gives is not the kind that the world gives.  It is not dependent upon perfect conditions.  If all the bills are paid, if the children are behaving themselves, if the family is enjoying good health, if everyone is saying nice things about us; then there is peace.  The peace that Jesus gives is present even in the absence of all of these conditions.

Like the disciples, when storms arise we tend to ask, “Lord, don’t you care that we are about to die?”  We forget that in the presence of the Lifegiver, the sting of death is nullified.  We forget that the winds and the waves have not forgotten “the voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.”  We forget that “He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.”  One of the reasons we are peaceless is because we tend to forget.

That does not mean that we will never be faced with unpleasant situations.  We are still on planet earth.  This is still the planet in rebellion.  We are still in the midst of a cosmic warfare, and there will be casualties.  In war, there are casualties on both sides.  The determining factor is that in the midst of the battle, we have Christ’s peace!  He said My peace I give you…let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Why was Christ able to sleep in the midst of the storm?  What gave Him peace when all His friends abandoned Him and fled?  Where did He get the serenity to peacefully surrender His Spirit into the Father’s hand?  These words spoken of Christ give us a clue:  ‘ “I desire to do Your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” ‘  When He came to earth and lived among humans, He declared: ‘ “My food” ‘… ‘ “is to do the will of Him who sent Me…”  And when He came to His darkest hour, He could once again say, ‘ “…My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may Your will be done.”  He never forgot whose will He had come to fulfill.

Living within the will of God brought peace to Christ in all circumstances; and it will do the same for us.  We will have “a peace that the world cannot give” – or take away.