By Gina Caswell Kelly
“My peace I give to you. My peace I leave with 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
Peace is something we all want. We want peace in our world. Not sure that will ever happen. We pray for peace in Israel, for God’s people. We want peace in our country, but that seems like such a dream! With all the bickering and hatred between political parties and all the divide in our country, peace in our own country may never happen again. We want peace in our families. Again, with so many personalities and so many headstrong people in our families, that may never be either. And we want peace for ourselves. There is so much turmoil around us, at times, and so much struggle within us, that even peace for ourselves seems like a pipe dream.
But, Jesus says He gives us peace. How is it that if He gives us peace, we seem to have none? My thought is that we have no peace because we do not turn to Him. He is the true giver of peace. His peace, as He says in John, is not like the world’s peace. Sure, we are still going to have our struggles and our trials, but when you know that you can turn to God and lay it all before Him, you can have a peace that comes from the inside out.
One of our wonderful gifts from the Savior is the gift of peace in the midst of struggle. As He says in John 14:27, we are not to let our hearts be troubled or afraid. In my life, I have had lots of times of struggle and lots of times of absolute fear about how the situation would be handled. I can go through my Bible and see dates in the margins of time after time where I would ask God for His peace and His care over me and my family. And I am still standing here today. Standing in peace. I still have problems and things that want to keep me up at night, but I know that He is holding me and giving me His peace that is not dependent on what is going on around me.
Oh my goodness! Grab hold of His hand! If you are struggling and worrying, grab hold of His mighty and comforting hand and let Him give you the peace that you need so desperately. He is waiting. He is loving you right now.
Do you want peace? Turn to the Savior. It will make a difference!
