Have Peace

“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.” John 14:27 (NIV)

Have you ever felt troubled, burdened or weighed down by agitation and frustration? I think it’s safe to say we’ve all been there. A situation where everything we’ve tried has failed and we can’t get rid of the niggling fear and anxiety in the back of our minds. It’s hard to be peaceful nowadays, truly peaceful. Every day we hear something on the news more frightening than the last, we are ambushed on all sides by fear and apprehension. I want to tell you right now, have peace. Jesus died for every one of us to have the highest quality of life. He died for us to be joyful, peaceful and full of love for the LORD and each other, it’s a shame how much time we waste on worrying, especially about things that are out of our control.

If your heart feels heavy and it’s weighing you down I can guarantee you that Jesus is the answer. Jesus felt lonely, troubled, angry, afraid. He knows the depths of all our emotions even the ones we can’t articulate and He is here for you - always. He can rescue you out of even the deepest mire of depression and fear. Peace is a precious gift that He left with us here on Earth upon His resurrection, it’s one of the most sought after things in our society - and rightly so! With peace, life is easy, everything has a rose-tinted hue and even without having all the answers we have the assurance that all will be well. There is nothing better than completely trusting God with any and everything that concerns you and experiencing that overwhelming peace that washes over you like a wave.

Nothing compares to it and everyone is searching for it. Everybody from the wisest to the most naive is looking for that sense of wholeness and completeness that can only be granted by God. If you’ve been looking in the wrong places for peace I encourage you to turn back to the Source, spend some time worshipping and fellowshipping with God and quench the thirst for peace in your spirit. All the fulfillment, harmony and security you could ever need is in Him. Whatever it is that has caused you to lose your peace, hand it over to God now. Whether it is something you’ve been holding on to that you know you shouldn’t be or something you can’t seem to stop worrying about, give it to Him. Oftentimes, we needlessly burden ourselves with problems that we aren’t even capable to carry. Trust your Heavenly Father with those issues and rest. Matthew 11:28 (NIV) says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Listen to the call of the Father, fall into His embrace and have peace.

A big issue for me is that sometimes I think I’ve strayed too far away from God for Him to hear what I have to say. Nothing could be more wrong. The way I see it, God doesn’t draw away from us, we leave Him. He remains in the same place, His position unchanging. Where you left Him is where you will find Him you need only to come to Him reverently and penitently cry out. His love will encompass you and that is when you will experience real peace. Don’t sell yourself short for the fleeting comforts of the world. Find everlasting, wonderful, incomprehensible peace in the arms of the LORD today. Just pray a simple prayer and have peace.