Finding Peace

God never promised us that the world would be free of chaos and trouble. But what Jesus did say, “...let your heart NOT be troubled or afraid” John 14: 27c. Prior to this imperative, Jesus gave comforting information to help guard our troubling hearts. So, allow me to remind you that this comforting information can be found in John 14. Jesus starts out in verse 1 by saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me John 14:1. I could simply stop there because the words of our Lord and savior is enough. Believing in God and His son should be enough to comfort any troubled or fearful heart.

As we live in uncertain times, we can be certain that Jesus’ words are meant to comfort us during these times. John 14 is a synopsis of Jesus comforting the disciples during an ‘uncertain time’ for them. Causing the worry: “Who will betray Jesus, Peter in denial and overconfident in his commitment to Jesus, plus Jesus was going to leave them”, all of this knowledge overwhelmed them and gave rise to troubling hearts and fear. Currently, our society is overwhelmed with troubling knowledge leading to fear. However as Christians, we should lead the charge in exercising peace because we have a promising future, no matter what the outcome of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).

Jesus in His compassion and grace gives us more details facilitating assurance of the peace that is found in knowing the Father and His son. Jesus starts out by informing us of our eternal home (heaven) with Him and it’s capacity to accommodate all true believers, e.g. saints. Further comfort throughout John 14: we are in a constant relational fellowship with God (7-11), we have the privilege of prayer (12-15), we have the gift of the Holy Spirit, our helper (16-18), the enjoyment of God’s (our Father’s) love (19-24) and finally, another reminder of His gift of peace (25-31).

What I would like for you to takeaway from this devotion is to remember peace is a gift from the Lord and it is not something that you must give away. We all have been privileged with this gift from our Lord. It is totally out of this world. In fact, Jesus gave us HIS peace. “27 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

(Pause… and let this sink in).

My encouragement to you: In the coming weeks as the world becomes more afraid and times become more uncertain, you hold on to Jesus’ peace that you have and show love to the world and I declare, your experiences will become less fearful and more faithful. After all there is no fear in love, 1 John 4:18.

Heavenly Father, help us during these times of obvious lack of control. For we know that you have always been in control and forgive us for the times that we thought we were. Help us to surrender our desire to understand and fix everything. We need your help to not only believe and trust you but also to exercise this trust so that the world will be drawn to you and Christians drawn back to you. Lord feed us, protect us, shelter us, & heal us from diseases. Help us not be greedy and self-centered and fall back into human nature but walk by and with your spirit. Help us to be mindful of others and esteem others over ourselves. We can do all of this through your strength. You are almighty and powerful. This is my humble prayer for the world and myself. In Jesus name, I believe… Amen!

Keep safe,
The journey flows…