Rest In His Peace

In John 14:27, when Jesus was preparing His disciples for His departure, He promised that He would leave His peace with them. It would have been good if the disciples had taken a moment to recall how often they had seen Him function from a place of peace. Jesus lived in peace; it surrounded Him because He only did what He saw the Father doing. There was no uncertainty about what He was doing or what He was to do. He solely followed the leading of the Holy Spirit and communicated continually with His Father.

I do believe that one of the reasons people followed Jesus so closely, hanging onto each word He spoke, was because of the peace that He exuded. This peace was so tangible that one could almost touch it, and in a world filled with chaos and strife, there was little peace (surely none that could be compared to the peace that Jesus lived in.)

Paul advised his readers in Colossae to not be anxious about anything but by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving – no matter the circumstance – they were to make their requests known to God. Then he stated that the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, would guard their hearts and their minds in Christ Jesus, Phil 4:6,7.

This peace is not some token lack of conflict; no, it is deep within those who have it. We have so many promises in the Word of God that assure us that He cares for us and takes watches over us.

But there is a rest in that peace that is very important for all of us. This rest comes as we give everything into the powerful hands of our loving Father. When we declare “rest” in our peace, the enemy cannot steal our rest or our peace from us.