Living His Word (March 16th, 2022

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:27 KJV

Do you have peace? In our verse for today Jesus says that He leaves us with peace. Indeed, He leaves us with His own peace. If we are not at peace, then something is amiss in our Christian walk of life. Someone or something has robbed us of the peace we have been given by Jesus. If we are not at peace, then we need to get it back somehow.

When Jesus left us with His peace, He was well aware of the trials, troubles, and tribulations His disciples would face in the coming years. It was Jesus Himself who said “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33) and He also said that no one who follows Him will fail to receive persecutions (Mark 10:29-30). Obviously, Jesus believed that peace was something we could have despite the difficulties of life as Christ-followers.

Satan is the one who tries to steal our peace. Satan is the thief that “comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10) and he “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (I Peter 5:8). Satan uses the trials and troubles of life that he himself has instigated as an opportunity to rob us of our peace. He knows we are vulnerable at those times and he takes advantage of it by trying to place fear and anxiety on us.

If Satan succeeds in stealing our peace, then we must take it back. Peace is something Jesus has given to us. It is ours. We can take it back. We can do this by obeying Jesus’ command to “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” We take back our peace by taking up the shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16). We take back our peace by putting our faith in God during the troubles of life. You can’t have peace without faith.

If your peace has been stolen from you today, then take it back from the enemy. Have faith in God, and do not allow Satan to trouble your heart, and do not allow him to make you afraid.