Peace

“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

Peace. Ahh! Isn’t that what we all want? How can we be less focused on fear and worry? How can we look at God’s long-range plan for our lives rather than focusing on these troubled times in which we live? How can we find lasting peace?

None of us is exempt from the struggles of this life and the fear we sometimes feel as a result of our struggles. From personal experience, I can testify that we CAN have lasting peace if our focus is in the right place. To me, there’s only one place where I have found such peace, which in turn brings less and less fear of anything that will come against me—present or future. It’s in and through the person of Jesus Christ. It is through my sweet relationship with Him that I find peace.

It is in and through our commitment to God and our reliance on Him to guide us through each day, that we will be able to rise above the hard places in life. We are not blinded by the circumstances around us. Rather, we will see that there is no need to fear and through God’s help, we will understand the words found in I John 4:18a: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”

When the veil of pain and sorrow is lifted from our eyes, we’ll see a brighter and clearer picture of His love and peace all around us.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Yours is the only peace that we desire. Thank you for giving us all that and more. To know that Your love reaches into the depths of our souls brings not only peace but sweet joy. Help us to live in such a way that we will shine the light of Jesus to a lost and dying world, and that we will exhibit peace amid the great challenges we face today. I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and Savior. Amen.