The Peace of God
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
As our Lord prepared to take earthly leave of His disciples, He left them a priceless legacy — His own peace. He knew there would be no lasting peace for them in the world, that is, none that could match the inner serenity that He was inviting them to share as His parting gift to them. His peace would preserve them from fear and banish worldly cares from their hearts.
There is little peace among men and nations today. But there is an inner personal tranquility which Christ offers to all who are willing to put their trust in His finished work on their behalf. The basis of this peace is the atoning death He endured on the Cross to reconcile sinful men to His Father God. Inner conflicts and worldly troubles which work to keep us in a state of anxiety and fear can be relieved by submission to his mercy and authority, making available a peace which can fill man’s deepest spiritual need.
We often seek the peace of the world by our own efforts and good deeds, trying to appease the old nature, but this kind of peace has no substance and fails miserably when real testing comes. We need to learn that the only lasting peace is that which comes from seeing the hand of God in all of our afflictions and troubles, and submitting to His will for us. Peace lies not in getting everything we desire, but in letting God work in our hearts to keep us satisfied with what we have (Phil. 4:11).
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” (Isa. 26:3).
—Arthur F. Wilder