I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. John 16:33
Right after the promise of peace comes the promise of trials and sorrows. Peace isn’t the absence of sorrow. Peace doesn’t demand a stiff upper lip or a zen-like tranquility. Peace just means that we know that God is not against us. We were God’s enemies, and now we aren’t. God made peace between us by Jesus’ death on the Cross. If He did that, we know that He is for us. He is in our favor. He is on our behalf. He cares about what happens to us. He loves us.
Peace gives us confidence that God is not punishing us when terrible things happen. He isn’t attacking us. He doesn’t hold any concealed weapons and He isn’t looking for an opportunity to take us down. Because we have a permanent peace accord.
Sometimes the enemy has some really good ammunition – sin we’ve committed, sins that have been committed against us. Death. Disease. Loss. The world falls down around us and the enemy unleashes his claws. He suggests that God is not good, that God isn’t for us, that He is actually against us. He implies that our painful circumstances mean that God has abandoned us.
Peace disarms the enemy. Peace takes all the fire out of his ammunition. It renders every missile a dud. How can it do that? Because peace assures us that God sits with us in the ashes and broken glass. He weeps with us over our heartbreak. When God says He will never leave us or forsake us, He means that He won’t let us walk through the dark valley alone. God isn’t just sitting by and waiting for us to get a grip.
At Bethlehem, Jesus entered fully into our pain and sorrow, to share it with us, to take the weight of it off our backs and transfer it to His own. He carried it all the way to the Cross, where He became the mediator of this peace. And now He stands as the witness next to the throne of grace in heaven to intercede on our behalf, providing mercy and grace in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
After He rose from the dead, Jesus met His disciples on the beach for breakfast. How did He greet them? He said, “Peace be with you” (Luke 24:36). It’s not a wish or a hope. It’s a fact, a condition. Peace exists with you. Peace is with you. Right here. Right now. Jesus brings peace with Him, it accompanies Him, and He is with you – always. So take heart. Do not be afraid. Peace has overcome all the sorrows and trials of this world.
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
Thank you Belinda for my meditation period. I stop to read and just want you to know that, while I may not notify you, it reaches me in the Philippines.