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Peace
The peace of the Lord.
John 14:1, 27 (KJV)
"[1] Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
[27] Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
Peace is a condition of the heart; it's a state of the mind and the spirit. The Lord Jesus knew how to erupt peace in the face of tribulation. He calmed the tempestuous, boisterous wind. He calmed Peter and told him to sheath his sword. He's calming you now. He says, "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
You have crisis and challenges... "Do not let your heart be troubled, or afraid."
"Oh... my wife, my husband..." Peace.
"Oh, there's no money for the ministry..." Peace.
"They said the government wants us to evacuate the property..." Peace.
"She's dying, he's dying!" Peace.
"What if..." Peace...
"How am I going to..." Peace...
He says, "My peace I leave with you." What's the peace of the Lord Jesus like?
John 12:23-24, 27-28 (KJV)
"[23] And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. [24] Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
[27] Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. [28] Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."
The Lord was in such great distress. He was troubled on all sides. Great drops of sweat dropped from him. Yet, say "yet." He prayed in accordance to the will of the Father. He said,
"Father, my soul is troubled. Should I pray I escape this moment? But how can I? This is the very reason I came. It's for this hour! Fatherrr! Glorify thy name..."
That is him saying,
"I choose not to see the pain, but I see the glory this hour would bring you. Hence, I'm at peace. My soul rejoices."
That's gratitude. Hence, the scriptures say, "In all things, give thanks." The Lord became grateful in that moment to be able to give glory to God. What a mindset! Peace. It's only from a place of peace you can practice gratitude in the face of trouble. It's the same peace the Lord has given us.
"All things work together for good, to those who love him (God)."
"Lord, in the face of this challenge, let your name be glorified."
It's the same strategy that David used in the face of death! "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I would fear no evil." Peace. Hence, he told Goliath,
"Who are you, you uncircumcised Philistine, to defy the army of the Living God!? I would cut off your neck and the birds of the air would feed on you." (1 Samuel 17.)
He was confident that this challenge was come to give glory to the Father. Peace.
The Lord Jesus' disciples asked, "Who sinned? This man, or the father?" Jesus' response was, "Nevertheless, this is so, to bring glory to the Father. I will work the works of my Father in him." Peace.
No need to ask why the situation came. The end of it is peace.
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