“Peace I leave with you, My Peace I give unto you—not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
John 14:27
Truly, it’s one-of-a-kind and priceless.
Jesus’ “incomparable Peace.”
So often we view peace as an absence of problems or some sort of mental/emotional/spiritual equilibrium where all’s well. . .the pressure’s off. . .no demands are being made on us. . .and no deadlines to meet.
But, that’s not the “Place of Peace,” Pilgrim.
That’s called Delusion and the “Land of Make Believe and Wishful Thinking.”
Let’s face it:
There is no such place of “Never, Never Land” where all is blissful calm and a casual stroll through a rose-covered garden—at least this side of Heaven. Instead, life is a series of ups-and-downs. . . joys and sorrows. . .victories and defeats, etc. And, if the truth be known, most of the time it’s uphill and against the tide, which is compounded by our “Three Achille’s Tendons” (I Jn. 2:16), the world and the devil.
So, again, Peace is not the absence of problems.
However, according to today’s Manna, it’s Christ’s Presence, Promises and Power in the midst of them.
During those times when we feel like grapes in a winepress, being trodden (stomped) underfoot. . .or those times when we feel like one strapped into a straitjacket, with no wiggle room. . .or being bound like the three Hebrew teenagers and thrown into a fiery furnace (Dan. 3:19-25). . .we must not become so exasperated or frustrated that we want to explode; instead, we must remember there’s a “Fourth One in the furnace like unto the Son of God” (v.25).
And, we know His Name is Jesus—God’s wonderful “Prince of Peace” (Is. 9:6). Hallelujah!!
Truly, He is the One Whom God sent to “bind up the brokenhearted. . .proclaim liberty to the captives. . .the opening of the prison to them who are bound. . . to give beauty for ashes. . .the oil of joy for mourning. . .the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. . .so we might be called Trees of Righteousness—the planting of the Lord—that HE might be glorified” (Is. 61:1-3). Glory!!
The world’s peace is really a short-lived placebo: Promising the moon, but never delivering the goods. We long for our “global village” to live in peace and harmony with each other; but, inwardly, we know this shall never be so long as the Adamic nature is operational and it’s “every man for himself” in Life’s Version of “The Survivor Series.”
Much better is Christ’s “Incomparable Peace.” It’s found in our being “yoked with Him” (Mt. 11:28) and “abiding in Him” (Jn. 15:1-7) in the Christ Cocoon. May we rest in Him and His Peace today and tell others how they can enjoy Him/it, too.
June 15, 2011
