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.” Because we live in a fallen world, our days are often filled with tribulation. This is a promise from Jesus. The unexpected, the uncertain, the unfamiliar, occur, and sometimes at a frantic pace, but Jesus also promised that in the midst of tribulation, we don’t have to live with a frantic and fearful heart. Jesus promises us peace and Philippians 4:7 says that it is a peace that surpasses understanding that will both guard our hearts (emotions) and minds (thought life). This peace that Jesus promises is totally different than the normal peace the world gives. What the world offers is an interior tranquility totally dependent on circumstances and the behavior of others. As long as everything in the world (not just the world at large, but our own personal world) goes the way we want it to, then peace is something we experience, but the moment we have rapids in this life, a troubled and fearful heart takes over. So, what kind of peace does Jesus offer that is different than what the world has to offer? Very simply, Jesus said, “MY PEACE I give to you” – John 14:27, and in 16:33, He says, “IN ME you have peace.” Philippians 4:7 actually says it is “the peace of God” that is “in Christ” that surpasses all understanding. You and I, as believers, have been placed into Christ, united to Him, and the one who “is our life” is always at peace no matter the severity of tribulation. Christ doesn’t just give us peace; HE IS OUR PEACE. I can’t tell you the countless times in my life, when a troubled heart and fear have risen up inside of me, that Jesus spoke in me (to me) “I have peace about this.” Jesus rarely tells me in those situations that the tribulation is going to go away. He just simply reminds me that nothing about the tribulation changes the truth about who He is, and who He is in me, and He is at peace. Whenever He speaks those words to me it is not only a reminder to me of who He is, but it is an invitation to me to just sink (surrender) into Him and in childlike faith thank Him for His peace as mine. When I do of course His peace always takes over and the traffic in my head and the fear and anxiety in my heart goes away. Pax Christi.