My peace I am giving to you. And it is not like the world’s peace, temporary and conditional. It is eternal. It is based on the love of the Father, the promise that you will never be alone. It is the understanding that good will overcome.
Jesus knew what lay ahead for his disciples. Even as they basked in the triumph of the entry into Jerusalem, the clouds gathered foretelling hardship, betrayal and death. And so He revealed to them the promise of the indwelling of the very Holy Spirit of God.
We live in a time of upheaval where the uncertainty of health and life share the headlines with anger and greed. We cry out for normalcy. But what we need is God’s peace.
The prophet Elijah once faced the anxiety and fear of the power of evil. Alone, hiding in a cave, he hears the voice of God. Told to stand outside the cave because the Lord was passing by, Elijah saw the destruction of a mighty wind, the tremor of an earthquake and the heat of a great fire. But God was in none of these. Then came the whisper of a still small voice.
Like Elijah, we seek God in the wind and the earthquakes and fires of life – which is not to say that He never manifests Himself in these ways. But perhaps we see Him most powerfully in the still small voice that says “You are never alone.” Life may throw its very worst – pandemic, dissension, disease, war, fear. We may echo the prophet in our cries to God – “Everything is wrong and I have no hope. I am alone. This is not the way I thought my life would be!” But a still small voice reminds us, “I have been there first. I have experienced all this world can offer and I have overcome. I will never leave you.”
In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul spoke of the peace that passes all human understanding. It is based, he explained, on our trust in the nearness of God. We are reminded of His presence in the intricacies of creation, in the words of the scripture and in the example of His Son. Even in the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil for He is with us. Nothing, Paul writes, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. And it is in this assurance that we find our strength.
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness – everything coming together for good – will come and settle you down. It is wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Philippians 46-7, The Message
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