Peace and Joy
Don’t we all need a little bit of peace or maybe a heaping dose of peace? We are living in a tumultuous time and so many of my friends hearts are uneasy. How do we find peace? Jesus said to his disciples, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful,” (John 14:27). This is the kind of peace we all need. It’s a perfect peace that is supernaturally imparted to us by our Savior.
Peace and Joy
Elkhorn, Montana
Sometimes I understand concepts better when I can imagine a picture or a scene in which the concept takes place. This week an old friend of mine passed away quietly at home in her loving family’s care. I haven’t seen her in years but have watched her family grow over social media as we lived hundreds of miles apart. This past year I have also read updates from her and her loved ones as she battled cancer. I lifted her up in prayer and asked for a miracle but I also asked God to give her peace as she waited on Him. I have seen God heal people in miraculous ways but I have also seen Him heal people as they move from this world to the next. I know God is good all the time and I know that what I think is good is not necessarily what He thinks is good. “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways,’ declares the Lord,” (Isaiah 55:8). My faith in God moves me to into understanding that her passing was God’s good.
What does that have to do with our understanding of peace? I read the last update written about my friend telling us that she had left this Earth “peacefully”. The picture attached was a beautiful woman waiting patiently in a body that failed her. She was cozied up on her bed with a fuzzy blanket and stocking cap holding hands with the love of her life. She was filled with the peace of the Lord and she trusted Him as she passed. I believe she had peace here but I also believe that she now has a peace that will never be taken from her. It is one of the few times that I have been able to look at death and truly felt jealous. God had rescued her from the things that the rest of us will have to face in the coming days and weeks. There will be no more worry, no frustration, no anger, no sadness, and no more fear. He whisked her away into His loving care.
So, how do we find that kind of peace? Since it is a supernatural peace imparted to us by Christ then we must find Him. Where? He’s in many places and in the hearts of many people but His word is the best place to start. The gospel of John in the New Testament of the Bible would be a great beginning. Jesus says this about himself, “As the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you. Remain in My love. If you keep my commands you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commands and remain in His love. I have spoken these things to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete,” (John 15:9-11). God desires us to have His joy and peace and he tells us to keep His commands. We must know the Bible in order to know what He commands so that we can keep them.
Do you need peace? Do you want joy? Grab a Bible or download a Bible app and read some of it now. Pray first and ask God to reveal Himself to you as you open His word. “Seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives; and the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened,” (Matthew 7:7-8).
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13).
Hopscotch Heidi