John 14:27 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.
Over the next few days, we will explore how to have God's peace as described in Philippians 4:6. There are three things that Paul gives us as "to do's" to achieve indescribable peace, but today I want to talk about the promise of peace that God has for us.
Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. THEN you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
My definition of this kind of peace is not the absence of trouble, but it's the absence of being troubled. It's not the absence of war, but it is the absence of internal conflict.
In our text today, Jesus reveals two key facts about His peace. First, His peace is a GIFT. Secondly, it's not just any peace, it's HIS peace...God's kind of peace.
God's gifts are for all of His children. In Acts 10:34, Peter is essentially saying that God does not have favorites. He wants to give all of us the gift of peace. Think about this, Jesus is in heaven, sitting on a throne and He isn't worried about anything! He is God. His father created the entire world with mere words. And He wants to give you that same type of peace.
Romans 8:16-17 states, "For His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ, we are heirs of God's glory."
At times, I look at my son and think about how cool it is that he can go through his childhood not worrying about things. He was afraid of monsters for a day until I told him that I hunt monsters and eat them in a gumbo. No fear. No worries. Just fun.
If I, being a flawed dad can provide an atmosphere like that for my child, why do we think that our PERFECT heavenly father can't do the same for us? I challenge you today to trust God with that pure, childlike kind of faith. When doing so, He can and will pour out His perfect peace in your life.
Dear Lord, I thank You that I don't have to be consumed by worry. I know that you are taking care of everything. I put my hope, faith and trust in You!
I thank You, my Jesus, for dying for me. I believe that You are Lord and that God raised You from the grave so that I can have eternal life.
