In the 1980’s a retired couple was alarmed by the threat of nuclear war so they undertook a serious study of all the inhabited places in the world. They wanted to figure out the least likely place in the world to be affected by nuclear war – a place of peace and security. They studied and traveled, traveled and studied. They finally found THE PLACE and sent a card to their friends from their new home in the Falkland Islands.
Unfortunately, their ultimate place of peace was soon a literal war zone as Britain and Argentina fought over those islands in what history books now called the Falklands War. *
There is not a place in the world where one may find perfect peace. Jesus warned His disciples: “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). One may find a place where a country is not (at least currently) involved in a war, but there is also the matter of conflicts with others on a relational level as well as inner conflict with the individual.
When Jesus warned His disciples that “in the world you will have tribulation,” He also comforted them by saying: “In Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
The peace that Jesus promises is NOT the absence of conflict on the outside, but an inner calm within the individual – a peace in the midst of the storm!
It is based on trust in a God who cares and provides for His children (Luke 12:22-31).
A “perfect peace” that is ours NOT because of the absence of trouble, but because of the presence of God! This peace is found in a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus, that sustains His children even in difficult circumstances.
Jesus Christ died on the cross so that YOU and I might have THAT peace. Through His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus conquered the number one problem that keeps us from having peace: SIN. His death served as payment for the sins of those who will submit their lives to Him: believing in and trusting Him (Acts 16:31), repenting of sin (2 Corinthians 7:9-10), confession that He is the Son of God (Romans 10:9-10), and being baptized (immersed) for the forgiveness of sin (Acts 2:38). The “peace of God which surpasses all understanding” will CONTINUE to “guard” the hearts and minds of those who CONTINUE to walk with God obediently (Philippians 4:6-7).
Through Jesus, WE may have peace with God, peace with others, and peace with ourselves – even in a troubled world!
Do YOU have that peace?