Our Daily Bread Devotional, June 4, 2017 - Perfect Peace

Topic: Perfect Peace [Sunday June 4, 2017]

Read: John 14:25–31, Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 21–22; John 14

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. John 14:27

A friend shared with me that for years she searched for peace and contentment. She and her husband built up a successful business, so she was able to buy a big house, fancy clothes, and expensive jewelry. But these possessions didn’t satisfy her inner longings for peace, nor did her friendships with influential people. Then one day, when she was feeling low and desperate, a friend told her about the good news of Jesus. There she found the Prince of Peace, and her understanding of true peace and contentment was forever changed.

Jesus spoke words of such peace to His friends after their last supper together (John 14), when He prepared them for the events that would soon follow: His death, resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit. Describing a peace—unlike anything the world can give—He wanted them to learn how to find a sense of well-being even in the midst of hardship.

Jesus came to usher peace into our lives and our world.

Later, when the resurrected Jesus appeared to the frightened disciples after His death, He greeted them, saying, “Peace be with you!” (John 20:19). Now He could give them, and us, a new understanding of resting in what He has done for us. As we do, we can find the awareness of a confidence far deeper than our ever-changing feelings.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are fixed on You. Help us to trust in You forever, for You are our Rock eternal.

Jesus came to usher peace into our lives and our world.

Insight:

Jesus repeatedly talks about peace in John 14, yet He would soon be arrested and His disciples would be hiding in fear. In verse 1 Jesus offered peace by encouraging them not to be troubled by the events that were coming on them. Instead, they were to look forward to reunion with Him and a home in the Father’s house. Then in today’s reading Jesus rooted this peace in the coming of the Holy Spirit—reminding us that, in part, the fruit of the Spirit is peace (Gal. 5:22–23). Jesus concluded His words to them with the promise of peace for everyday living: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). For now and forever, His great gift of peace carries us through all the seasons of life.

How do you see Jesus’s peace present in your life today?

This message was written By Amy Boucher Pye [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]