Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful. John 14:27
Read John 14:27 and John 16:33. What does is it mean to receive Jesus’ peace? How should we live in the world as a result of receiving His peace?
Trust leads to Peace
Everyone is seeking peace. “Peace of mind” can be defined as rest of mental anxiety. Peace in our heart is something different. It is rest in our soul in relationships and emotions. A basic soundness of life – wholeness – everything is in its proper place. Not something you have or do but something you ARE.
It seems like we talk a lot about peace. It truly is the relentless pursuit of what seems just out of our reach. Just when we get what we think will bring us peace, peace flies out of our grasp and in the direction of the next thing we think we need. What will bring you peace? Financial security? Healing from a chronic health issue? Having a specific spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend? The perfect car, or house, in the perfect neighborhood? Maybe it’s all the pretty things around you. Whatever it is that we think will finally bring us peace - if it isn’t God - we will be pursuing it our whole lives.
Peace is not a goal of life but a fruit of the spirit according to Galatians 5:22: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness… Peace is the result of what Jesus did for us – not on what we do or achieve. It is a direct result of having a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and learning to surrender and trust him in everything.
This peace is a special peace:
It Guards Our Hearts- And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
It Rules Our Heart - And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful
It is Not the Peace the World Gives- Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful. John 14:27
Jesus offers us a different peace than the world gives because what the world offers is not peace at all but a cunning imposter to peace. It seems like peace but is quite the opposite. Like a morsel of food to a starving animal, the worldly peace we chase only leaves us longing for something else. The peace He gives satisfies, forever. It drowns out the trouble of this world and overcomes all fear. Sin, fear, uncertainty; doubt, and numerous other forces are at war within us. The peace of God moves into our heart and life to restrain these hostile forces and offer comfort in place of conflict. Jesus says He will give us that peace if we are willing to accept it from Him.
Peace is resting in God's sovereignty – when we are suffering; when the walls are coming down; when the money is gone; when the diagnosis is unthinkable – the hardest times to rest in the unknown. But we know who holds the unknown and we know what his promise is - I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world. John 16:33 He knew everything we would be faced with in this world when he first said those words. He gave us those words so we would know that we can find peace trusting in his sovereignty because he has already conquered this world and every painful part of it that tries to take our peace. But when our peace is rooted in him, nothing can take it away.
This world is an unstable, broken, and sometimes dark place – where no lasting peace can be found. Jesus’ presence in our life brings deep and lasting peace that provides assurance in every circumstance. He is our only hope of true peace in every circumstance. Leaning into his peace and away from the false “peace” the world offers will give us the strength and assurance we need to walk through everything – and to share some of his peace with a lost world that is desperately seeking.
