“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.” – Jesus, John 14:27
When I wrote my Advent devotional book, the peace section was probably the trickiest part of the project to nail down. Peace is such an elusive ideal yet it is probably the thing most prayed for, most hoped for, most asked for… most longed for in this most unpeaceful world.
I plan to ask my Sunday morning class what peace looks like to them, and I expect to have as many answers as participants.
Peace in the noise and the mess:
Thinking about it for myself, I tend to experience peace more in the middle of some mess, some desperation, some deafening noise, than I do in quiet or tranquil places where nothing is happening. Peace is typically found most profoundly exactly where it is needed. That’s the sort of peace Jesus came to bring, it’s a truth I only tend to remember when the turmoil surrounds me.
It’s like that moving story about Horatio Stafford, the man who wrote the hymn, “It is well with my soul.” He found his peace in the middle of a turbulent Atlantic ocean, in response to great personal tragedy in a cacophony of noise and pain.
“When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul.”
This is one of those times – one of those weekends – when I really need peace, and the quality of peace Jesus offers is a responsive mercy that meets me where I am. It is not a negative quality – the absence of anything like noise, or conflict, or heartache – the Jesus kind of peace is positive, it is the presence of love in the middle of it all.
I would like it if everything was quiet and easy and manageable, I would be grateful if people I love were not experiencing pain and heartache and trouble. But that is not the world we currently live in. In consequence I need the Jesus kind of peace and I am grateful for such ministries of grace.
Peace has little to do with calm and quiet, but it is a responsive mercy that meets me (meets us) where I am (where we are). – DEREK
“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.” – Jesus, John 14:27
Thanks for that exquisite reminder of the peace only Jesus gives. Beautifully shared. Hope your class went well.
Will be interested to hear what was shared in your class. What is Rebecca holding as this is not familiar to me?