John 14:27 NASB95
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful..
John 16:33 NASB95
These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
Jesus promised that in this fallen world, we would go through times of tribulation. The word “tribulation” used here is a Greek word that can speak of trials, tests, or temptation. All of us have experienced all of those things. Recently I was talking to a colleague about a situation I knew I was about to face that carries a lot of potential stress and negative consequences, and I said to my friend, “I am in a good place about this.” The next thing that I said was, “The reason I am in a good place about this is because Jesus is in a good place about it.” That statement may not mean much to you if you’re still thinking of Christ as outside of yourself even though, theologically, you know that He lives in you. If you don’t really get it, that He lives in you so that He can live his life through your unique humanity and personality, then it’s easy to think of Christ always as “other.” Of course, there is a real sense in which Jesus is “other” that us, while at the same time, Jesus says very clearly that He is “our life.” He’s not just my helper who is “other” than me, working on my behalf. I am in union with Him and His “otherness.” You see, in light of the fact that Christ is “my life,” then He has already made the decision for me about being in a good place concerning the situation that I’m going to find myself in a couple of days. It’s not about Jesus giving you existentially some peace, not even a dose of His peace; instead, He, who is my life invites me to simply rest in the fact that the one who is living through me is in a good place about this thing I’m facing. In other words, He is our peace. Peace is a person. Jesus gives me His peace by being my peace. He already decided that He was going to be in a good place because He always is, and in light of the fact that He is my life, that decision has already been made for me. I don’t get a vote in it, and I’m glad I don’t.