“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
Not long ago, I received an advertisement in the mail from a resort that was pulling out all the stops as it tried to tempt me into spending some of my hard-earned money. Its tactic? Dangling this phrase in front of my often-weary soul: “Looking for some peace and quiet? Have we got a dream vacation for you! Come join us for 6 days and 5 nights of absolute bliss as we pamper you on our beaches, catering to your every whim and desire!” I have to admit, it sounded good, and I’m sure would have even felt good, but the Lord flashed the “red light” in my heart and prompted me to make sure and take notice of an all-too-frequent lie deftly hidden among the luscious-sounding words of this advertisement. The lie? That peace can somehow be attained and enjoyed with nothing more than a change of location.
Make no mistake…this lie sells! Marketer after marketer attempts to convince us that the solution to our inner struggles is purely a geographical one. Each tempts us with the idea that we can leave behind all that troubles us if we’ll just come to their place. Sunset skies, tranquil waters, gentle breezes and our favorite foods are wonderful, but make no mistake; they have very little, if anything, to do with peace-finding. Our world is filled with people who have the capacity to go anywhere, do anything, move anytime, and yet “peaceful” would be the last word we’d use to characterize their lives!
Ever since his demise some millennia ago, our adversary, Satan, has been in the business of counterfeiting the real things of God. He readily dispenses cheap imitations of just about anything God offers: love (lust), joy (spending), and contentment (acquiring things) are just a few of the commonly peddled alternatives. And when we get to the topic of peace, he’d love for us to believe that it is obtainable any other way than by coming to Jesus Christ.
Trouble is (for Satan), Jesus makes it very clear that His peace is unique, unlike anything our enemy can ever offer. Look at His words in the verse above: "I do not give to you as the world gives." See, the world’s peace is fleeting, elusive and unpredictable. That means it’s tough to find, even on a good day, even harder to hang onto, and as far too many have discovered the hard way, unreliable at working the same way or providing the same thing twice.
Take Jesus’ peace, though, and you’ll find just the opposite to be true. It’s never hard to find, but comes any and every time we ask for it. It’s easy to hang onto, as Isaiah 26:3 states, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee” (just keep our eyes on Jesus). And it works the same way every single time we seek it, for “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take a vacation anytime I can get one…but not to attain peace. The only place I need to be to attain this peace is with Jesus. An old piece of “bumper sticker theology” stated this truth quite simply: No Jesus? No Peace. Know Jesus? Know peace.
Take a vacation when you need one…but find your peace long before you leave. Jesus is ready and willing to grant you His peace…and quite possibly save you a lot of money!
