Peace Be With You
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give." John 14:27
Before Jesus was betrayed and arrested, He left His followers a lot of life lessons and words of wisdom which He knew they will need after He leaves them.
But aside from all these and aside from praying with and for them, Jesus said He was leaving them something they cannot find elsewhere -- His peace -- a peace not of this world, a peace that surpasses all understanding, a peace non-believers can never understand or experience.
Easily Lost
Now, if something that just happened causes you to lose peace (peace of mind or peace of heart) then that did not come from God. God is not, pardon the term, an 'Indian giver'. [He is not one who gives a gift and later takes it back, or who expects something of equivalent worth in return for it.]
If you have no peace right now, then an enemy has sneaked in and planted something else that caused you to lose your peace.
Believers were given this peace by their Lord and Savior, Jesus of Nazareth. If something comes up or you need to make a decision but you have no peace about any of it, then that is not the time to act on it.
The disciples were all distraught and scared and had no peace about everything when Jesus left them. In fact they kept themselves locked indoors and hiding.
They totally forgot everything Jesus taught them. They forgot all the miracles He did. And they did not even believe when the women told them they saw the Risen Christ. What happened? They lost their peace.
Then Jesus comes back and what was the first word He told them? Yes... peace.
He told them peace be with you. He already gave them His peace. But somehow they lost it. Now He came back and gave it back to them.
Peace, you can lose it. But you can also get it right back. Turn your eyes back to Him, the giver. Turn your mind and your heart. Reread His Word. Talk to Him in prayer. Sing Him praises. Meditate on Him. Listen to His still small voice -- the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit.
Shhh.
Peace. It is not during the good times that you need it. But during the hard and the bad times -- when you are scared, when you are frustrated, when you are sick, when a loved one just passed, when trouble comes and when you have all sorts of problems to deal with.
Peace. You will know when you receive it. It will be there in the middle of the chaos, the disorder, the pain, the hurt, the fear, the doubt and all the uncertainties and insecurities.
Then when you know you have it back, stand up, rejoice, recognize it, appreciate it. Smile and then you can make that difficult decision or face that difficult situation.
Be sensitive to it, and although you know you can have it back, don't allow it to be lost for anything, especially the little things. It is one distinction between you and an unbeliever. Peace. Hope. Love. If you are of Christ, then these three things define you. And when they do, everyone would want to be like you and would want to have what you have that they don't.
Before Jesus was betrayed and arrested, He left His followers a lot of life lessons and words of wisdom which He knew they will need after He leaves them.
But aside from all these and aside from praying with and for them, Jesus said He was leaving them something they cannot find elsewhere -- His peace -- a peace not of this world, a peace that surpasses all understanding, a peace non-believers can never understand or experience.
Easily Lost
Now, if something that just happened causes you to lose peace (peace of mind or peace of heart) then that did not come from God. God is not, pardon the term, an 'Indian giver'. [He is not one who gives a gift and later takes it back, or who expects something of equivalent worth in return for it.]
If you have no peace right now, then an enemy has sneaked in and planted something else that caused you to lose your peace.
Believers were given this peace by their Lord and Savior, Jesus of Nazareth. If something comes up or you need to make a decision but you have no peace about any of it, then that is not the time to act on it.
The disciples were all distraught and scared and had no peace about everything when Jesus left them. In fact they kept themselves locked indoors and hiding.
They totally forgot everything Jesus taught them. They forgot all the miracles He did. And they did not even believe when the women told them they saw the Risen Christ. What happened? They lost their peace.
Then Jesus comes back and what was the first word He told them? Yes... peace.
He told them peace be with you. He already gave them His peace. But somehow they lost it. Now He came back and gave it back to them.
Peace, you can lose it. But you can also get it right back. Turn your eyes back to Him, the giver. Turn your mind and your heart. Reread His Word. Talk to Him in prayer. Sing Him praises. Meditate on Him. Listen to His still small voice -- the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit.
Shhh.
Peace. It is not during the good times that you need it. But during the hard and the bad times -- when you are scared, when you are frustrated, when you are sick, when a loved one just passed, when trouble comes and when you have all sorts of problems to deal with.
Peace. You will know when you receive it. It will be there in the middle of the chaos, the disorder, the pain, the hurt, the fear, the doubt and all the uncertainties and insecurities.
Then when you know you have it back, stand up, rejoice, recognize it, appreciate it. Smile and then you can make that difficult decision or face that difficult situation.
Be sensitive to it, and although you know you can have it back, don't allow it to be lost for anything, especially the little things. It is one distinction between you and an unbeliever. Peace. Hope. Love. If you are of Christ, then these three things define you. And when they do, everyone would want to be like you and would want to have what you have that they don't.
Comments
Post a Comment