John 14:27 – TPT – I leave the gift of peace with you—my peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world, but my perfect peace. Don’t yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts—instead, be courageous!
Jn.16:33 – NKJV – These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Jesus said that we would have tribulation in the world. This word is thilipsis and it means pressure, anxiety, anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation, or trouble. All of us are familiar with at least part of this list, which one of these things is stealing your peace today? It could be a bad report from a heart specialist, a car accident that could set you back thousands of dollars, bad news from the insurance man, none of these things make for a good day. I am sure you have probably already made your own list in your head and you probably have a headache just thinking about it. The Lord knows about tribulation and pressure and He offers us the ultimate solution, supernatural peace that comes from Him, peace that is one of the results of allowing the Holy Spirit to take over your life. Here is how Max Lucado describes this perfect peace.
“And as if the worldwide perils weren’t enough, we face personal ones. Blood cell count goes up. Savings account goes down. Marriage goes south. Pandemics rage. Work goes off the rails. Stress goes off the charts. Can’t sleep. Can’t eat. You are powerless to calm this inner storm.
The result? Anxiety. The emotion is not a sign of weakness, immaturity, or demon possession. It is simply the result of living in a fast-changing, challenging world. Anxiety is not a sign of weakness. But anxiety does weaken us. It takes our sleep. It numbs our minds. It clutters our hearts with dread. Yet help is here. You have at your disposal the surest antidote for trepidation. The Holy Spirit. He is the calming presence of God in the world today. He will help you defy the voices of fear and draw nigh to the presence of peace.”
Perfect peace is a great way to describe what happens in our lives through the work of the Holy Spirit. This peace flows out of peace with God, the blood of forgiveness has opened the way for us to have a dynamic and intimate relationship with the Lord. Out of that relationship our life is flooded and overcome by the peace of God. This is not peace that comes because our problems have been solved (even though He does that too), this is peace that we enjoy in the midst of the worst of storms.
