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The Current Issue
of YouTruth
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That You Might Have Peace
“These
things I have spoken to you, that in Me you might have peace. In the
world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome
the world.”
John
16:33 (NIV)
When
we think of peace, we usually think of what we experience in a quiet
moment on a glass-smooth lake or while lying in a hammock under a
canopy of
leafy trees on a warm day. This peace requires circumstances and
surroundings that are just right. This is not the peace Jesus is
talking about in our passage. Jesus’ peace can be experienced no matter
the circumstances.
Jesus taught that the peace He brings is not
like the peace the world gives. The peace the world gives is temporal.
It requires peaceful circumstances – quiet, calm surroundings, loving
company, and things like that. It also may require money and privilege.
The peace the world offers may come at a price. A vacation
home
in the country or protection from enemies provided by a well-equipped
army, for instance, all require worldly resources to acquire. All of
these conditions can provide us with peaceful surroundings if they are
available to us. And in them we can feel peaceful. And that is a good
feeling indeed. But Jesus doesn’t offer “peaceful.” He offers
“peace-filled”, the peace of God. Let’s see how the two are different.
. .
Broken
Relationship
When
our relationships with others become strained and fractured, we
separate from those people with whom we are having trouble. In the most
severe cases, where vows have been broken, trust has been betrayed,
commitments and promises have gone unkept, relationships can take on
the characteristics of war. So, how do we straighten out a mess caused
by our war-torn relationships with others? Only one approach works. We
make peace. So what does this have to do with the peace Jesus offers?
Well, unfortunately, without Jesus, our relationship with God is broken
and we are separated from Him by our sinful nature. This sets us at war
with God. We cannot experience true peace, the peace Jesus offers
unless we repair our war-torn relationship with God.
Making
Peace With God
Through
faith in Jesus we can make peace with God. Our faith in Jesus allows us
to discard the sinful nature of the world that places us at odds with
God, and replace it with the guiding of the Holy Spirit. Faith in Jesus
repairs our relationship, reconciles us to God, so that we can be at
peace
with Him. You see, having the peace of God that Jesus offers can only
come from being at peace with God, through faith in Jesus. Any
alternative approach will not address the core problem—being at war
with God. Once we are at peace with God, we have peace. Until we are at
peace with God, we don’t. Period. Even in those peaceful
moments
when we feel peaceful, we are just between battles in our war with God,
but the war rages on.
Overcoming
the World
Being
at peace with God, through faith in Jesus, brings a peace that can be
experienced in every circumstance and in every situation. Jesus
cemented the magnitude of this truth in His disciple’s hearts by
proclaiming the He had “overcome the world.” He would later deliver the
empirical evidence of this truth by rising from the grave and
overcoming the very worst of what the world could deal Him – death.
God’s peace is an overcoming peace, because Jesus overcame the world,
and its barriers to a peace-filled relationship with God.
When we
face trials we can experience the overcoming peace Jesus offers.
Remember, trials are things of the world and Jesus has overcome the
world. Jesus’ overcoming peace will guard our hearts and minds and will
not allow trials to tear them open (see Philippians 4:7). Thus they
will remain peace-filled. When we suffer, we can experience the
overcoming peace that Jesus offers. Remember, suffering is a thing of
the world and Jesus has overcome the world. Jesus’ overcoming peace
will guard our hearts and minds and will not allow suffering to tear
them open. Thus they will remain peace-filled. The peace that Jesus
offers is centered on our right relationship with God, achieved through
faith in Jesus, and not by any worldly means. Therefore, the peace that
Jesus offers cannot be taken from us by any worldly means. When we face
the end of our time in this world, even at death, we can overcome it.
Jesus conquered even death, so that we could face it with peace. This
peace is amazing! The apostle Paul tried to describe it but finally had
to give up and just say that it “transcends all understanding.” That’s
the truth.
These
things I have spoken to you,
that in Me you
might have peace; that you
might have a peace that transcends all understanding. A peace that will
guard your
heart. A peace that will guard your
mind. In the world you
shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer. I have overcome the
world. In Me, you
can too.
That’s the YouTruth
– that you
might have peace.
©2010 Dan Buckhout
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New
International Version®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Internatonal Bible Society.
Used by permission of International Bible Society.
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