John 14:27 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.
Read our passage again prayerfully and slowly. Take deep within your soul what The Good Shepherd is saying this morning. Twice Jesus says, “I give you peace.” One of my problems is that I wrongly interpret that to mean the absence of trouble. But that faulty way of thinking IS my problem. Jesus never tells us that as Christians we will never have problems or face adversity in this world. To make sure that we understand this point, Jesus repeats His promise of peace in Him this way: “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)
“I have overcome the world.” In other words, there is another world awaiting those who embrace Jesus as Lord. But in this life, Jesus does not want His sheep to be anxious or driven by fears and anxieties. The Psalmist writes, “The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.” (Psalm 29:11) No matter how you feel this morning, The Lord promises to give both strength and peace to His people. No exceptions. This strength and peace has nothing to do with the circumstantial hurricane that maybe swirling all around you. His strength and peace is in the knowledge of Jesus Himself. Jesus IS our strength. Jesus IS our peace. My prayer for each of you reading this blog this morning is Numbers 6:26: “The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.”
