Lasting Peace

John 14:27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid."

Peace... Who doesn't want to live in peace?  Then why don't we?  Jesus tells us he is giving us peace of mind and heart as a gift. Why don't we feel that gift actively at work in our lives?  

The answer to the questions above comes in Jesus next statement. "So don't be troubled or afraid."  When we allow fear and worry to creep in our peace flies away. 

It is human nature to want to fix every problem and to reason out solutions to our problems.  This can be one thing that robs us of our peace. The trouble comes, you see, when we become obsessed with finding the solution when sometimes there is no human answer.

Many times we face things for which our finite minds cannot find a solution. Some of the things we face must have a God size solution. That is why the scripture admonishes us to worry about nothing but to pray about everything. Philippians 4:6 "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done."

The next verse in Philippians gives us the promise of peace when we leave our burdens at God's feet in prayer. Philippians 4:7 "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."

"...as you live in Christ Jesus."  I think of living in Christ like living inside a force field. The current flowing around us, as we live in Christ, is so powerful that the enemy cannot penetrate; unless we give in to worry. Once we give into worry we step outside that protection. 

I've talked about Job before but his story applies here as well. When Satan stood before God, he accused God of putting a hedge (force field) around Job. God chose to remove that hedge and allow the enemy access to Job. I believe there are two reasons He did this:

1. To prove to the enemy and to Job that Job was a righteous man even without the extra security system in place. Job 1:8, 22 "Then the Lord asked Satan, 'Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.'" "In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God."

2. To teach Job that God is greater than all his fears and that He can restore what is taken by the enemy. Job 3:25 "What I always feared has happened to me. What I dreaded has come true."  Job 42:12 "So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning."

In this life we will suffer trouble and may lose people or things we hold dear. If we give all our worries to Christ, he will care for us and restore the years the locust (the devourer - Satan) has eaten. 1 Peter 5:7 "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you."  Joel 2:25a "The Lord says, 'I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts,the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you."  

God never causes our pain or suffering, however, as with Job, He may allow it to teach us lessons we could/would not learn any other way. Or we may step outside the safety he provides through willful sin or through worry and then we will suffer at the hands of the devourer. Either way, staying "in Christ" is the only way to have true and lasting peace.