Living Christian in a World of Turmoil
John 14:27
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you;. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Traditional statement before departing ones company in the early days of the Jewish friend often sounded like the statement above. It was customary to say Shalom which means ‘peace.’ When Jesus our Lord was making his final farewell he did so by saying, “My Peace.” It is in the Greek an emphatic My. It was not a run of the mill wish by a casual friend; it was Jesus and it was a personal and very special and certain blessing of peace. It was a peace that Jesus Christ can only give that banishes all fear and oppression from the heart. The reason was because Jesus was then and is now in control of all circumstances. Not that he promised to change the circumstances, but that he is in control of them.
As I grow older I often find myself not trusting in the promise made to all humankind for all time. The promise is that He did send “His Peace” no matter what my circumstances. I am reminded that worry cannot change circumstances, but Jesus can bring me victoriously through them. In my wondering and fear of what will become of me comes also in Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” So not only will Christ give us His peace He will give us His strength. Again paraphrasing from the Greek it means that we become literally “self sufficient.” Based upon verse 11, when it is written that “…for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content…”
If I find myself wondering where I am headed in my ministry I am brought to rational thought that I have proclaimed when it seemed apparent where I was headed, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope.”So peace, courage, strength and hope as witnessed in Hebrews 11:1; “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Shalom,
Uncle John