“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)
Peace is hard to come by in our world. No one wants to be without peace, craving a steadiness that seems out of reach and worrying about what is or what may be. But we all live in a world we do not control. Our circumstances are not for us to dictate, and things happen—big and small—that feel like they threaten our peace. We often try to arrange our lives in such a way that peace can be ours, but as we’ve all experienced, it just doesn’t work that way.
That’s why it’s important for us to remember the actual source of our peace. When Jesus died and was resurrected and made a way for us to have a relationship with God, peace became available to us. But it’s not a circumstantial peace. It’s not a flimsy kind of peace that’s easily knocked over by the challenges we face; it’s better than that. It’s a peace that is rooted in something deeper than any situation or circumstance. It comes from the person of Jesus.
When he walked out of that tomb, he made it possible for us to experience peace that doesn’t even make sense to us but is very real. Now, pain, worry, and confusion do not have to mean the absence of peace. In relationship with God, we have someone who carries what we cannot and who offers us a calming presence we could not provide for ourselves. The peace of God is ours no matter what.
Pray
Father, thank you for being my source of peace. I am easily fooled into thinking I am in control of my peace, but I admit, I am not. I cannot build for myself a life that is in perfect order and fully calm. You are the provider of my peace. Will you show me today where I am relying on myself to find peace and bring me back to you? When I am tempted to put effort into making the peace I so deeply crave, please catch my attention and let me bring every worry and anxiety to you. You are the Prince of Peace.
