DIGGING DEEP NO. 1009 NOVEMBER 7, 2023 THE PEACE OF GOD JOHN 14:25-28

The peace of God can act like a soldier on guard to protect our hearts and minds. It will not allow anxiety despondency and fear to sneak back into our lives after becoming born again. The peace of God is stronger than the worry and fear of the flesh. Just as God is greater than our situations and circumstances so is God’s peace greater than our inward worries and fears. 1 Peter 5:7; Proverbs 12:25; 1 John 4:18; 1 Peter 3:14 2 Timothy 1:7; Isaiah 35:4; Isaiah 40:31; John 14:25-28

25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.

26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

28 You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.

It is one of the most amazing and wonderful and sweetest things in the Bible to realize that just hours before Jesus was crucified, he was concerned for the peace, the joy, and the faith of his followers. He is about to be tortured to death with one of the most horrific means of torture ever devised, and his burden is to solidify in the souls of his followers peace joy, and faith.

These words of peace are a comfort amidst the chaos going on in the world, people are experiencing Extreme Poverty in most parts of the world, man-made problems like wars, terrorism, and ethnic cleansing, are rampant, natural disasters like earthquakes, tornadoes, pandemics etc. are getting more and more frequent.

We also have our individual issues, the death or illness of a loved one, our own illness and physical conditions, the troubles in our marriages and the concerns we might have concerning our children, the insecurities in our jobs, long-awaited unanswered prayers, all these and many more will steal your peace.

In all these, we should be comforted in the very last moments of the life of Christ, he left us his peace and not the peace that the world gives, but the peace that passes all understanding.  

Everywhere you turn there is plenty to steal your peace and take your joy away. But be assured that as a child of God, you can find peace in Christ. Run to him for he will give you the peace you need amidst the chaos. He has promised us peace that passes all understanding.

The only kind of peace the world can give is peace of mind based on good circumstances. The world tries to give peace in certain situations through health insurance, retirement accounts, flood protection, bomb shelters, or labor-saving devices, although these things can afford us temporal peace of mind, they will never be a substitute for the peace found in Christ, your health insurance might not be enough to cover your sickness and you still have to work to pay the premium to maintain the insurance in the first place and you still have to meet your deductible, the stock market can wipe out your retirement account you are relying on for your retirement days, your bomb shelter has its limitations, there are bombs that now penetrate these shelters the peace of God has no such limitations and it is yours for the taking.

But Jesus says (middle of verse 27), “Not as the world gives do I give to you.” Which means that his peace is not based on good circumstances. It is given, and it holds sway, in spite of bad circumstances. Here is how Jesus says it in John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart in that tribulation; I have overcome the world.”

Philippians 4:7 – And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Romans 5:1 – Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: