Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27, NKJV
A Peace That Never Leaves You
Think about a time when you were worried. How did you deal with it? Maybe you tried to distract yourself, or perhaps you let your mind race through your problems. It’s natural to want to respond to our worries this way, but God shows us a better way to respond.
Not long before Jesus went to the cross, He told His disciples that He would be leaving them. Worried about experiencing life without Him, the disciples wanted answers. But instead of giving them the response they hoped for, Jesus told His disciples to be at peace and not let their hearts be troubled.
Imagine how frustrating this must have been for His followers. They sensed that Jesus was leaving, but they were trying to align what He was saying with their ideas for the future.
They questioned His words because they couldn’t understand them.
In the same way, we can also be quick to try to find solutions to our problems when we’re worried. We can let our understanding of current events cloud our thinking and influence our conversations with God. But God’s purposes are beyond what we can see and understand.
When Jesus told the disciples to be at peace and not worry, Jesus saw beyond the cross—He saw His resurrection, His return to heaven, and the arrival of God’s Holy Spirit.
In the same way, He sees beyond our situations.
Because we live in an imperfect world, we will experience disappointments and hardships—but because we serve a good God, He sees beyond the bad things we go through. He sees our future filled with hope.
Jesus told His disciples to be at peace because He wanted them to trust in Him. Similarly, God wants us to be at peace in every situation as we trust Him to work things out for our good and His glory.
So take some time today to reflect on some of the situations that are causing you to worry. Then, take a moment to tell God that you trust Him with each of these circumstances. Imagine handing Him each concern, and allow Him to hand you His peace in return.
Think about a time when you were worried. How did you deal with it? Maybe you tried to distract yourself, or perhaps you let your mind race through your problems. It’s natural to want to respond to our worries this way, but God shows us a better way to respond.
Not long before Jesus went to the cross, He told His disciples that He would be leaving them. Worried about experiencing life without Him, the disciples wanted answers. But instead of giving them the response they hoped for, Jesus told His disciples to be at peace and not let their hearts be troubled.
Imagine how frustrating this must have been for His followers. They sensed that Jesus was leaving, but they were trying to align what He was saying with their ideas for the future.
They questioned His words because they couldn’t understand them.
In the same way, we can also be quick to try to find solutions to our problems when we’re worried. We can let our understanding of current events cloud our thinking and influence our conversations with God. But God’s purposes are beyond what we can see and understand.
When Jesus told the disciples to be at peace and not worry, Jesus saw beyond the cross—He saw His resurrection, His return to heaven, and the arrival of God’s Holy Spirit.
In the same way, He sees beyond our situations.
Because we live in an imperfect world, we will experience disappointments and hardships—but because we serve a good God, He sees beyond the bad things we go through. He sees our future filled with hope.
Jesus told His disciples to be at peace because He wanted them to trust in Him. Similarly, God wants us to be at peace in every situation as we trust Him to work things out for our good and His glory.
So take some time today to reflect on some of the situations that are causing you to worry. Then, take a moment to tell God that you trust Him with each of these circumstances. Imagine handing Him each concern, and allow Him to hand you His peace in return.
Note after sharing the devotional: I'm going lead this off with a few declarations:
- I'm choosing to trust Father God in the name of Jesus with my medical / physical health circumstances and with my body.
- I'm choosing to trust Father God in the name of Jesus with my job, with my wife's job, and with our finances.
- I'm choosing to trust Father God in the name of Jesus with my wife's and my future / futures (both together and separately).
- I'm choosing to trust Father God in the name of Jesus with all our relationships, families, church friends, and other connections.
I have a frame on my wall with words I believe God has given me at a couple different junctures in life:
"Focus on developing the gifts I have given you. Let Me worry about the money." Beneath that I have written: "Trust God. Believe Him. Love Him. Obey Him." Followed by this verse: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13.
(In retrospect, I would have also put up Philippians 4:19 which reads: "And my God will supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." But I didn't. And I'm actually OK with that because, I have often heard both Philippians 4:13 and 4:19 preached together at my church, now to the point that, when I think of one verse, I often think of the other. Sometimes it is better for my memory to only have one of them written so that I have to make myself think of the other one. I have noticed my mind can become lazy in certain respects regarding remembering / memorizing certain things in that once I've written something down, it becomes that much easier for me to forget about it. Journaling is good, but not if I'm going to forget about it later, and if it's something I need to remember later.)
Prayer: God, thank You for Your promise of peace. I may face uncertain and frightening things in this life, but I know You are bigger than my problems. As I walk with You today, help me to remember that no matter what I encounter, You are good. You promise to always be with me -- and that brings me peace. In Jesus's name, Amen.