Peace!

Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.] JOHN 14:27 AMP

A simple message, but one with deep implications for life and the journey of faith. Jesus, at the point of leaving the earth after his death and resurrection, spoke these eternal words: 'my peace I give to you'. What a man does not have, he cannot give. When God says he gives us peace, it is because he is undeniably the Prince of Peace. He is not man that is unsure of the next moment, uncertain about his future, and running helter skelter, trying to sort out his present and the future.

Another fundamental truth is that Jesus does not give the way the world does. The world does not give a man something for free; it is either that something else is expected in  return or a bigger favour will be demanded for in the future. That  is the way of the world. For God, he gives us all and gives freely, without so much as expecting much from us in return, only our absolute devotion.

This peace is also not the absence of trouble, but the assurance that all will work out for good. It is never a complete message to preach total freedom from trials once a man gives his life to Christ. Nowhere in the Bible does God promise such. What he guarantees is his never-failing presence and his constant grace that helps a man stand in the face of the most distressing of circumstances. Challenges and trials will come; they are a fundamental part of the growth process. You don't mature without trials, and you don't know your capability until you are tested. In the midst of it all, God's presence stands as a sure rock, ensuring that all ends well. Don't run away from trials; they will guarantee growth and maturity, and ensure that God's purpose for your life is achieved. His time of favour is here.