Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.] - John 14:27 (AMPC)
Do not permit…
Draw your line.
Do you realize you have a choice in what you think, how you feel, and the exact level of worry or anxiety you experience? Worry is not of faith (see Romans 14:23). The Fruit of the Spirit are not negative (see Galatians 5:22-23). Circumstances are not the boss of you. They may stir up and rise like a flood, but you can remain calm through the storm, for God is greater.
Mark 6:49: But they seeing him walking upon the sea, thought it was an apparition, and they cried out.
50: For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he spoke with them, and said to them: Have a good heart, it is I, fear ye not.
51: And he went up to them into the ship, and the wind ceased: and they were far more astonished within themselves (DRA).
God’s rescue doesn’t always initially appear as we expect it would. It is better to be more astonished, more enthralled, more focused in the spirit on God than anything in the world. Likewise, the Apostle Paul had seen so many things in this world, endured shipwrecks, snakebites, and the Damascus Road; jail time, threats, preaching, and the memories of his sins before. In his conclusory analysis, he considered all the world had to offer rubbish, nothing, a loss, compared to knowing and gaining more of Christ (Philippians 3:8).
Think about that… If the problems amount to nothing, and Christ amounts to everything, which do you want to meditate on right now? Prepare your mind, heart, and soul ahead of time, for He is preparing a future place for you right this moment (see John 14:1-2). If He is thinking about you…you, in turn, have full permission to be thinking about Him.
Peace is so pleasant and unusual, that you may think there is something wrong when God grants it to you. Your mind no longer is in overdrive. You are no longer worried about the future, your performance, other people… Even serious issues are in God’s hands. Questions that remain unanswered no longer aggravate you. Finances are tucked into His provision. You simply trust.
God is Providence.
In John 14:1, Jesus says,
“Do not let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated). You believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely on God; believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely also on Me.”
Take courage today. Look up. Your times are in His kind and gentle hands.
God bless you.
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Translations:
Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC), Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA), public domain.