Peace

"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)

Lizzie and I snatched a day or three away last weekend. On Sunday, whilst many of you will have been at church, we were enjoying a stroll around a nature reserve in a very flat bit of the world! It was a beautiful morning with blue sky and warm sun. It was a peaceful place. Around us were acres of marshland, created in 2006 especially as a haven for all kinds of wildlife. Before that it was farmland and looked very different. Man has worked and changed the landscape, certainly in this country, many times, sometimes for good, sadly often not so good. As I looked around me at the wonderful uninterrupted views, the one thing that hadn’t ‘changed’ was the sky, which in such an open landscape was like a giant blue blanket covering everything.

We live in a world which is nowhere near as God designed it. Too many people live lives in a way that God never intended them to live. We live in a world which in every sense is continually changing. We live in a world that is unpredictable and troubled.

Yet like that blue sky it is God who is constant; it is He who is in charge (Psalm 24:1). He has a plan and that plan is revealed to us in the bible. No, we don’t have all the details, but we do know that it is a good and eternal plan that will do away with evil, pain and sorrow. Jesus has already won the victory! He will come again and be seen and acknowledged as King – every knee will indeed bow and every tongue confess that He is indeed Lord. It will happen and maybe soon!

In John 14, Jesus is meeting with his disciples over that last supper before going to the cross. Isn’t it amazing that faced with the horror of crucifixion, His thoughts are for His disciples. They are troubled. They don’t understand. They can’t take in what Jesus is saying, at least not until after the events of that first Easter. Yet here Jesus promises them peace and tells them not to be troubled and not to be afraid. It is an instruction, not a suggestion!

We can so often look at our lives or what is going on in the world and lose our sense of peace. We allow things to get to us. The world talks about peace but it remains elusive! It is a broken world! Life is challenging; modern life seems particularly pressured for so many. Even as Christians, we can get tangled up in the concerns of life and feel weighed down and weary, even troubled and afraid.

Jesus’ promise to His first disciples is a promise for us too. He alone gives true peace in any situation. If Jesus said: ‘Do not be troubled and do not be afraid’, then we don’t need to be!

So how can we know that peace day by day when waves of challenge and pressure come sweeping in?

In the same teaching in John’s gospel, Jesus’ promise of His Spirit is given. By surrendering to His Spirit’s rule daily, we can walk in His way and know His peace. Too often we don’t feel at peace because we don’t stand on the promise. Too often we can give in to feeling troubled and fearful because our eyes are focused on the ever changing and uncertain world rather than on Him. We need to look up and see the ‘blue sky’ of His all-encompassing loving hand and control on our lives.

Jesus died to set us free. We belong to Him. He is in control and He will never leave or forsake us. May our minds be centred on Him and not on the problems. May we allow Him to focus our minds on His faithfulness and love and see other things take there place. He is awesome and powerful, loving and faithful.

(I recommend a walk or two in the countryside to restore His peace!)