Peace II: Beyond Understanding

“I give you peace, the kind of peace only I can give. It isn’t like the peace this world can give. So don’t be worried or afraid.” ‭‭John‬ ‭14:27‬ ‭

Hello, glad to come your way again. I hope you had a great weekend? On my side of town, it was Mother’s Day and I was thankful to God for all the women in my life. It was a quiet one of reflection.

Last week, we ended with this bible verse of Jesus promising to give us peace, and it is not like the peace the world can give. How are different are they? Let us look at some facts on worldly peace and compare it with Godly peace.

1. Worldly peace is attached to a place– the peace the world gives sometimes can be found in certain countries. People have migrated from one country to the other all in the name of peace. Asides that, there are certain places like waterfronts, lakes, parks where people go to sit to have peace of mind. The serene nature of that place has a calming effect. Many years ago, I visited a work colleague’s house who was also a friend. And as he was taking me on a tour of his beautiful home, he was so much in a hurry to show the me most important place. Guess what? He had created a mini aquarium in one of the rooms with just a single chair belonging to him. He told me this is where he has peace and creativity to be productive. I always remember that.

2. Worldly peace is attached to happiness– happiness have to deal with the happenings in your life and around your world. Worldly peace is explainable and has some understanding. In the midst of this pandemic, some companies are not stressed at all because of higher stock shares, higher profit margins and of course low turnover rate. Some companies like Amazon, Netflix and Zoom have emerged as the biggest winners in this season. They are at peace because of the happenings around them. It is impossible to have peace when you are unhappy.

3. Worldly peace and emotions are linked– we all hear this expression from time to time, “I feel at peace”. Emotions play a major role in how peaceful we feel. That is why for some people, music has a great calming effect because it appeals to your emotions. Worldly peace sometimes demands our feelings as evidence that we are truly at peace.

Now, the peace Jesus was talking about is independent of the aforementioned factors. It is a peace that passes understanding. It is illogical.

“And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding…” Philippians‬ ‭4:7‬ ‭

With Godly peace, parks, pools, aquaria may be closed to the public in this season, but you have an inner serenity and calm confidence that it is going to turn out well for the greater good when all is said and done.

Let me close with this illustration from a Bible story:

“On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.” Mark‬ ‭4:35-39‬ ‭

This is the perfect picture of Godly peace. Jesus was asleep on the boat whilst there was a great windstorm. When he awoke to the cry of his friends, he spoke peace to the stormy situation. You don’t have to wait for “all your ducks to be in a row” to experience this peace. Maybe, you are scared and very uncertain about how this year will turn out to be and what impact this pandemic will have on this world. You are the one I am talking to through this blog: Jesus wants to give you peace that is beyond understanding. Having this peace doesn’t mean you are aloof or blind to the cold, hard facts, rather a calm disposition in the face of adversity which makes you fearless to bring a solution to the problem.

Let us pray: “Father we receive this peace which you promised us. There is no better time than now to receive it. I pray that the minds and hearts of my readers be stabilized. We hope against hope, because we choose to believe in YOU. Amen”

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Stress less!

Till I come your way again…

Peace & Love