“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 (NIV)
Ever feel bummed by life’s constant turmoil? What’s that? You don’t have problems? Wrong crowd, sorry. For the rest of us who have experienced troubles and joys on the rollercoaster of life, this post is for you.
It was the evening before Christ was to be betrayed and Scripture tells us that Christ was “troubled in spirit”. Have you ever felt like that? Something is just bugging you and you can’t seem to rise above it. It might be discouragement, or pressures from the world that loom large. But for our Savior, it was the most extreme suffering weighing on his mind. Christ knew he was about to suffer and in the midst of him revealing this to his disciples, he bows down and washes their feet. Serving them right as he was about to die for them.
And when Jesus should have been the one comforted, he was worried about his disciples, instead, and telling them to take his peace and to not be afraid. Jesus knew something the rest of them did not know. In John 13:3, it says, “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God.”
Christ had all power to stop the suffering he was about to endure, but he chose not to. He was not worried about his comfort or about avoiding pain. He just wanted to win our souls.
When this world threatens to steal our peace and people malign or betray us, Christ is calling us to an enduring peace right smack dab in the middle of whatever we are going through. This peace is not dependent upon perfect circumstances, not at a moment of perfection. This peace is available to us in the hardest moments because our God who knew all things then still knows all things now. We can have peace at all times because our God is still in control.
We will have troubles in this world. Christ promised that. But He also promised that he already overcame the world.
“I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!” (John 16:33)
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