Peace...in Troubled Times

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27

Photo: pixabay

Good morning, dear friends,

Is it really possible to find true peace?

There is no doubt that these are troubling times for so many.  Since Friday night here in France, peace has become almost an illusion.  People are going through the motions, trying to find their footing in their daily lives, trying to reassure each other, their children, and themselves that the worst is behind us.

As retalliatory strikes continue, the word "war" is on many people's lips.  The government poses for war, and the people wonder if peace will return to our land.

(This is, after all, the first goal of the terrorists:  no one, anywhere, should feel like a safe place.)

This is not the first, and certainly not the last, time that France will be confronted with trouble within its borders.  As Christians, it is easy to get caught up in the media frenzy and forget who is TRULY in charge.

And He promises to give us peace.

1.  Jesus promises His peace to His children.  "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27) The peace that Jesus gives us is very different from anything the government can promise or man can deliver.  Jesus's peace comes directly from God's hands.  God does not change with politics, or human reasoning, or the face of the enemy in front of us.  God's peace is an eternal one.  Circumstances cannot change it, because our present circumstances have no effect on a God who is Everywhere, All Powerful, and Knows All.

2.  Jesus promises His peace in the direst of circumstances.  When Jesus spoke the words recorded in John 14, He was just hours away from being delivered into the hands of wicked men who would take Him to the cross.  He was preparing Himself to suffer the cruellest of deaths, for the sins of others.  And yet, He still promised peace to His children.  "Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.  And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe." (John 14:28-29)  The peace that Jesus gives is sufficient, even during the most difficult of times, because He is God.  Nothing takes Him by surprise, even His own death.

3.  Jesus promises His peace, in spite of all Satan's attacks.  After giving this promise to His disciples, Jesus reassures them that even Satan does not have the authority to keep us from having His peace:  "Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me." (John 14:30) When Jesus went to the cross, and accepted His role as Lord and Saviour, Jesus procured peace for all mankind, once and for all.  Satan cannot take away this peace:  it is an eternal peace between us and God, and the promise of a peace which "passeth all understanding" and that will "keep your hearts and minds through Christ-Jesus." (Philippians 4:7) 

I do not know what new surprises this day will have in store.  I know there will be troubles, and heartaches, and many more things that are just too hard for me to understand.

I can rest assured, that God is in control, and that His greatest desire is for me to trust Him, and find peace for today.

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)