COULD I JUST HAVE SOME PEACE?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be
scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all
alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have
peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart!
I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:32-33)

MEDITATION:
If you could have one thing consistent in your life, what would it be?
Would it be good health? Would it be trusted friends? Would it be
financial stability? Would it be business success? Or, would it be peace?

Whenever we lack peace in our lives, we can have feelings of loneliness.
We can develop a negative attitude when we fail to have a feeling of
peacefulness. Even the smallest of problems can seem huge when we
lack peace in our lives. A lack of peace can cause us to believe our
troubles are much greater than they might really be.

When we see others who appear to have peace, we can develop feelings
of jealousy. We can develop a feeling that we are unloved whenever we
see others enjoying peacefulness. To us our problems are real, but we
may have trouble explaining them to others, and this just increases
our frustrations.

For instance, we may feel stressed at work, but when we meet with our
manager, we struggle when trying to adequately explain the magnitude
of the pressure we are feeling. And even when we have an opportunity
to explain our problems, as we are describing them, they can suddenly
seem less severe than we originally thought they were.

Peace is something that almost everyone would like to experience
on a daily basis. Whenever we have peace, everything else just
seems to fall into place, doesn’t it? But where and how can we
attain peace?

First of all, we need to determine if having problems is unusual.
Does it mean that our life as a Christian is not where it should be?
Sometimes we create our own problems, but there are other times
when trouble finds us. We could suddenly lose our job, or a close
friends may prove to be untrustworthy. There are any number of
problems we can experience in an imperfect world.

Jesus tells us that,
    “In this world you will have trouble.”
Consequently, we should not be expecting a life without problems,
even as a Christian. In fact, we should realize that we are destined
for some disappointments. Even Jesus experienced problems, so
why should we expect our lives to be any different, if we are true
followers of Him?

Where did Jesus find peace? He tells us that He never felt alone
because His Father was with Him. He had confidence that with
His Father’s help, He could deal with life’s problems. Jesus tells
us that through Him we can find peace.
    Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified
    because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you;
    He will never leave you nor forsake you.
    (Deuteronomy 31:6)

    The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you;
    He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid;
    do not be discouraged.
    (Deuteronomy 31:8)

    No one will be able to stand against you all the days of
    your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you;
    I will never leave you nor forsake you.
    (Joshua 1:5)

    Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content
    with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I
    leave you; never will I forsake you.”
    (Hebrews 13:5)

Why does Jesus tell us we can find peace through Him? Because He
has the power to help us deal with the things of the world. We can
have confidence of finding peace because He has ‘overcome the world’.
Too often we try to resolve our problems in our own strength and when
we fail, then we finally go to Jesus and ask Him to help us.

The Christian life can be satisfying when we are completely committed
to obeying the Lord’s commands and allowing the Holy Spirit to have
control of our lives. However, the Christian can find life miserable
whenever he or she tries to compromise.

Why will life be miserable when we compromise or faith with anything
else? Because we will be forced to face our problems without a fellowship
with the Lord. We can have fellowship with Him whenever we surrender
to His will ‘without compromise’. When we have a close relationship with
the Lord, He supplies us with an abundance of His grace to help us endure
our problems with an unusual peace.

Whenever we acknowledge our weakness and our dependence on God,
He provides us with the strength required to endure our problems and
find peace. We don’t have to remain in a rut of turmoil, uneasiness,
worry, and lack of peace.

A rut has been adequately described as a grave with both ends kicked
out. If we are not careful, we can bury ourselves in our problems, when
we exclude the One who can give us what we need to dig ourselves out.

ACTION:
Are you struggling to find peace? Are you currently dealing with
problems in your life? Have you turned to the One who can give
you strength, or are you trying to face problems by yourself and
in your own strength? Who is in control of your life?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for telling me in Your Word
that I can find peace through Your Son, Jesus. Forgive me
for trying to resolve problems in my own strength. Teach
me to go to Jesus first in my attempts to find peace in the
midst of life’s storms. Help me to realize that I am never
alone because Jesus is always with me. According to Your
Word, I can expect problems in this life, but more importantly,
I can find comfort in knowing that Jesus has the capacity to
fill me with peace and calmness, so I will not be discouraged.
Thank You for ensuring me that the One who has overcome the
world will always give me strength to endure problems in this life.”

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