My Peace I Give You

I don’t know about you, but I’m still coming down from the high of celebrating Jesus’ resurrection this past weekend. I know I’m not the only one based on some comments I read on an internet article today.

My focus this particular spring holiday season seemed to have a different dimension. I’ve been an eschatology (study of the end times) fan for several years. I won’t get into all the particular instances but every observance of Jesus’ resurrection this year also reinforced in me the certain hope of His Second Coming.

Combine that with the high level of turmoil in our world right now. Some days I think I’m about ready to cancel my Facebook account because it’s often heart-wrenching to read through my newsfeed. Let me go check my feed right now and I’ll let you know what I see…

• Threat of North Korea attack
• Another shooting on an army base
• Death of a 17 year old kid
• Death of a legendary music composer
• Israel launches airstrike on Gaza
• West Coast newborns face thyroid problems due to Fukushima nuclear disaster
• The impact of media deception on our culture

That was in my first 30 news items. Yes, good stories mixed in with the bad; friends’ vacations, adorable pictures of little ones all dressed up for Easter, a Chick-fil-a picture, and high school kids having fun together. But I don’t think my point here is lost – we are in need of comfort and peace.

I pondered and prayed about these things earlier tonight; God reminded me of this passage. 

Let me give you a little context first; it’s so appropriate for this week. John chapters 14-17 are the most detailed account of Jesus’ Last Supper with His disciples. If you took all of my Bible and I could keep only a few chapters – these are the ones I would keep.

Here’s the thing – we are living in this passage. We are living in the time between His first coming and His second coming. Jesus left these final words for us - you and me.

He gave us His peace.

He left it here. He left us the peace of God that passes all understanding. He left it via the Holy Spirit that dwells within each and every believer. If I’m not at peace, something is wrong. Something in my life is squelching the peace available through the Spirit.

God’s peace isn’t like the world’s peace. 

God gives us peace “at all times and in every way” (2 Thessalonians 3:16). Any source of peace offered by the world will come and go. The world’s peace may be here today but it won’t last. It’ll be gone tomorrow.

Don’t be troubled. 

Don’t be agitated or stirred up. I wrote about this before in We've Got Troubles.

Don’t be afraid.

Don’t be timid. The same Spirit that gives you peace also gives you power. “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).

He’s coming back. 

My list from my Facebook news feed reminds me that someday Jesus will abolish death, war, disease, and lies. That’s all I need to know. That’s enough to get me through.