I looked up the dictionary definition of peace. It said simply — the absence of disturbance. When something agitates or upsets us we deem that we are in a situation of no peace. We want to somehow remove the unpleasant circumstance in our quest for peace. However, there are times when the offending situation cannot be changed. It’s there, lurking, attacking our senses. This is when we need a different kind of peace; a peace that is from God alone.
What does John 14:27 mean when Jesus says to His disciples, I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. Jesus was completely aware that He was near to the time of His cruel death on the cross. He would bear pain, being charged for all the sin of the world, which would turn His Father’s face away for a short but agonizing moment as minutes turned into hours.
When someone dies they often leave something for their loved ones to inherit. Jesus did the same. He left His family a peace that the world could not take away. The gift of peace from Jesus is far more than the absence of difficult circumstance: it is the fulness of harmony with God in the midst of any painful difficulty. Jesus’ peace is personal. The same peace that would sustain Him through crucifixion, He would now pass on to His followers — that’s you and me. The peace of Jesus doesn’t always eliminate the storm, but it gives us strength and confidence that we will not be consumed by the waves of turmoil and sorrow that wash over us. Our head will stay safely above water when we have Jesus’ peace. No hurtful words will destroy us, and even death will not overcome us, for it is in death that, for the Christian, is a door opening into an eternity of perfect joy and solace.
Are you in a storm today? Are you looking for a way out? Trust Jesus. Focus on Him and His love for you. Just think, the very same peace that carried Him through the experience of the cross, is the peace that He leaves to me and you. Nothing can destroy the peace of God within you. The peace Jesus gives has been with every child of God who has suffered persecution for being a Christian, or has cried in sorrow, who has been hurt by painful words hurled unfairly. The peace of Jesus comforted Him when He was betrayed, when one of His disciples denied he even knew Jesus.
We can arrange things in our lives to ease our difficulties, but the peace that passes all understanding that fills us with hope and gladness in the midst of any hardship can only be the gift of peace from Jesus. Whatever you are facing today, call to Jesus to be your everything to get you through anything. His peace will sustain you.
We’ve probably all made compromises in life. It’s not always a bad thing. Compromise may be called for in business dealings or even in the home as husbands and wives make decisions on finances or what they allow the kids to do, or who does what chores. When an impasse takes place, to come to an agreement, an alternative solution is workable and even wise. Compromise can work in our physical world but never in our spiritual walks. Who tells us it’s okay to compromise concerning the things of God? Demonic forces are the ones who whisper such harmful lies.
Temptations to compromise God’s instructions will not build our faith; it waters it down, weakening it. Sadly, there are churches that compromise, accepting as today’s norm those things God calls sin. “We must show love,” the church exclaims, as it accepts sin with a smile and a welcome. This is harmful to those searching for something meaningful in life. When someone feels lost, wondering what brings joy and peace in life, searching for a reason to wake up each day, they don’t go to a church to find more of the same. They go hoping to find a solution to their quest for purpose. They don’t know it at the time, but they’re looking for Jesus. Only He can satisfy. Only He can give lasting joy and peace in any of life’s storms. Only Jesus and obedience to His leading brings blessings.
Too often Christians today want the blessing without the obedience. They want the joy without the commitment. They want peace in their personal worlds without the hard work of daily focus on the things of God. This is not how any soldier is made strong or rewarded. The Apostle Paul wrote, Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them (II Timothy 2:4 NLT). It is the same in our spiritual world. We cannot get tied up in sinful pursuits, for then we will not please Jesus who saved us for better things. We will never see the beautiful views from the mountain top if we are consumed with what lies in the valley.
Look up everyday! It’s a daily choice. Paul also wrote, Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think (Romans 12:2 NLT). We have free will to make our choices. In the book of Joshua 24:15 we read, Choose today whom you will serve (NLT). It is a personal choice that will lead either to a strengthened faith or a weakened confidence that dwindles away, leading us into feelings of despair and despondency.
Joy in the storm that comes from the blessings of obedience, or struggling in waves of discontent. The choice is a daily one to make. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to change the way we think by revealing God’s wonderful truths found in the love letter of God’s Word. We are free to choose Jesus and His very best for us, or we can choose our own way. Choose each day whom you will serve.
Probably most of us reading this will know and understand the great gift of God’s forgiveness. When He forgives He remembers our sins no more and even casts them away as far as the east is from the west (Hebrews 8:12 and Psalm 103:12). As wonderful as those promises are from God our Father, it is at times hard to forgive ourselves. Of course, our arch enemy, Satan and his demonic forces, don’t want us living in the joy of forgiveness. They want us wallowing in self-pity, feeling loathsome towards ourselves for our transgressions. What can we do?
It greatly helps and releases us to walk in the joy of our forgiveness when we choose upon what we let our thoughts dwell. If we think upon how dreadful we can be, we will walk in despondency. On the other hand, if we think upon the unfathomable love of our Heavenly Father towards us, we will walk in the joy of our place in the family of God. I find Romans 8:1 helpful. It states simply but powerfully, There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus (NLT). The dictionary definition of condemnation is, the act of expressing strong disapproval or sentencing someone to punishment for their actions.
Condemnation does not apply to any child of God. Why? Because Jesus took the condemning sentence for our sin upon Himself. He did that when He paid the penalty for our every sin on the cross. Never forget that when you asked Jesus to forgive you, He washed you clean of every sin you ever committed and every sin you ever would commit. We still confess our sins, not to be saved all over again, (once sealed for eternity, always sealed for eternity) but to renew broken fellowship with the Lord who loves us so much. He does not want us burdened down by unconfessed sin which lessens our joy. He wants us walking in the sheer bliss of the power of the Holy Spirit.
How do we maintain such joy in Jesus? By claiming as our own the freedom Jesus paid to give us. Jesus paid the penalty for sin and gave us victory over death (for now we will live in Heaven with Him when our time on earth comes to an end), Now we grow in joy and faith by meditating on His love letter to us which is the Word of God, by telling Him all our concerns, by talking with Him throughout the day, by always thanking Him for all He has done in our yesterdays, which builds our faith to be assured of His blessings in all our tomorrows.
We are free to walk in joy in Jesus. Therefore, stand strong in the grace He has bestowed upon each of us who know Him. Refuse to accept Satan’s condemnation. There is truly no such thing for the child of God. Walk free today. Walk in joy. Be blessed in all He has done and for all He has planned for your tomorrows. Truly rejoice for He is your strength. He is your joy, He is your courage. We stand clean in His presence. Our identity is in the One who loves us and forgives us, making us new, filling us with the beauty of the Holy Spirit.
Our dog, Jack, and I have a game we play whenever it’s walk time. “Jack? Ready for a walk?” I call out knowing he’s always ready. I pick up his harness and the game begins. Jack races down the hall and into the bedroom where he pounces and lands center of the bed. His eyes are bright in anticipation. “Let’s get you dressed,” I say as I come near with the harness. He then jumps off the bed and zooms down the hall to the living room. I know exactly what will happen. It’s been the same game for years. He will come back with his dental stick, which is called his “toothy bone.” I try to get it. He play growls and sometimes howls in happiness as I attempt, but fail every time, to get the toothy bone away from him. He will jump off the bed with me in hot pursuit down the hall. Like a pro footballer he sidesteps, runs past me, and back to the bed before I can catch him. On and on the game goes until he finally surrenders with a great smile. I slip on his harness and away we go.
Earlier this week I grabbed the harness and asked as always, “Jack? Ready for a walk?” He zoomed away as I waited for him to return with his toothy bone. I waited and waited, but Jack didn’t come. Finally I walked down the hallway to see what had happened. There he was sitting stoically beside the dining table. His eyes were fastened on the hallway, waiting for me to appear. I walked over and saw the problem. Somehow his toothy bone was under the table with chair legs blocking any attempt for Jack to get to it. I knelt down, got the toothy bone, gave it to Jack who once again raced down the hallway for the game to proceed.
I was touched by his trust, and in his waiting for me to come and solve his problem. It was obvious that he had no doubt I would come. He did not whine or bark. He just waited, knowing. Oh, if only each of us could do the same in relationship with our Heavenly Father. We go along life’s way, walking through life’s routines as we do everyday when something unexpected happens. A problem or worry or sorrow appears that, at the time, seems insurmountable. How will we get through this? Perhaps we need direction. Which way should we go? How will we find peace in the midst of great grief? Who will help us? Why do we look into our own possible solutions before we realize we need to give our pain or dilemma to God and wait for Him to take care of it for us?
Jack never doubted I would come to his aid. Why do we doubt our Savior? Why do we doubt our Father? Why do we doubt in the leading of the Holy Spirit? I learn a lot from our silly, but lovable dog. This week I am reminded to ask myself in times of trouble, Where does my help come from? (Psalm 121:1) It comes from the One who gave His life for me, who is always watching over me, who finds nothing too hard to handle, who is ever listening for my call for help. In quietness and confidence is your strength (Isaiah 30:15). Do not fret. Be quiet in His presence, letting His love wash over you. Do not agonize. Stand in the confidence that He is your Father. He will come to your aid. He has always loved you and He will never stop.
Do not wait in worry; wait with eyes on Him. Joy and peace grows in the waiting. Waiting is not a curse but a blessing as it allows us to soak in the ever -present beauty of Emmanuel — God with us (Matthew 1:23).
Here in the UK the last several weeks have been wet and cold. It’s been difficult for dog walking as fields and parks are water-logged and muddy but just yesterday while dog walking around the neighborhood a beautiful sight caught my attention. Two bright, yellow daffodils were standing tall and beautiful amidst the sodden ground. I felt my lips stretch into a smile and in my heart a surge of joy burst forth. It was cold and muddy but the daffodils pointed to a great and certain hope — Spring was not far away.
As I joyed in the hope of Spring, I thought of the hope of Jesus coming again. These are dark days in many places around the world. There is political upheaval, demonstrators calling for change, wars taking place and threats of other wars to begin, unprecedented weather calamities, clashes with police powers, dysfunctional family relationships on the rise, and crime everywhere. These are days of, to quote Shakespeare in his play Richard III, “the winter of our discontent.”
Even so, while we endure and wonder about the chaos and evil going on all around us, like Spring coming after winter, we also have a great and certain hope. Jesus told us in Matthew 24 that the signs in the above paragraph would alert us to His return. As we observe these signs growing in intensity, let us take heed to what Paul wrote in I Thessalonians 4:16-18, For the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words (NLT).
There has always been persecution of God’s people. Today there is still mistreatment of Christians. Do not think that living in a western country of great technology and riches that Christians will be free of abuse. As days grow darker, our arch enemy, Satan, and his demonic forces are moving out in strength, but do not fear. We are not alone. We have within us the Holy Spirit to comfort, guide, strengthen, giving peace and courage in every moment of all our days. Because of Jesus we have joy in the midst of every turmoil.
Let us not lose heart in these days of winter for as surely as the daffodils grow tall in splendor and bloom in great beauty, so also will the Lord appear taking us to be with Him for eternity to be in that place where there is no more tears or sorrow or death (Revelation 21).
Spring is on the way; Jesus is, too. He is our great and certain hope.
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