Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 14:27

This morning, Anna Ruth and I, as we read Daily Light, were blessed and challenged by these gracious words of Jesus, spoken at that “last supper.”  My peace I give you. In no other way could they find peace in what was happening, things spinning out of control.  They had no peace!  Jesus had!  It is that peace that Jesus experiences and gives us.  Can it be?

My soul longs for and craves peace.  Yet, even in our prayers, we admit that things are happening all around us, maybe even in us, that disturb our peace.

Then Jesus speaks, “my peace I give you.”   Really?  Is he offering the peace that he had as he walked into the trials that were before him. What is he promising?  I believe he is offering us that same peace that he was experiencing in his hour of inexplicable pain and suffering. It is that peace that He knows when the sun does not shine and the earth trembles.  That is the kind of peace Jesus offers us!

As November ends, I realize anew that there is no peace in this world.  What is peace to them is illusive, the peace we are being given is eternal and glorious.