John 20:19, The same day at evening, being the first
day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of
the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, Peace be with
you.
When the Lord Jesus was arrested, crucified and buried His
disciples all forsook Him and left Him in the lurch. And when He was risen from the dead,
they were unwilling to believe and doubted those that had seen Him. However, after all
that had transpired and the grief that they must have caused the Lord, His first words to
them were, "peace be with you." He wanted them to have His Peace, for He is the
Prince of Peace.
This is what your life must be like. You must bring God's Peace
wherever you go.
The world continually try to bring peace on earth, but the more
they talk about peace, the more violent the world becomes. They will never succeed for
they try to do it their own way. They refuse to bow to the only One that can give them
peace, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Prince of Peace.
Eph 2:14, "For He Himself is our peace, who has made
both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation"
People without God's Peace hunt and look for it everywhere. They
try to find it in the world or in different religions. And they become destitute and
despondent because they do not find peace in their hearts. There is nothing as fearful as
looking for peace and not finding it. That's also why so many young people turn their
backs on the Gospel. They try to find peace in education, sport, achievement or their work
- only to be disappointed. They don't understand the way to the Prince of Peace.
Without God's Peace you will harbour grudges in your heart, be
touchy, unforgiving, unloving and hard.
The only way is to surrender your all to Christ. He must have the
first place in your life. The things of the world must become unimportant and fade away.
You must seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt 6:33). You must come to
the end of yourself and acknowledge that only Jesus Christ satisfies.
In Him you will find true contentment. When God's Peace dwells in
you it goes so deep that it transcends all and guards your heart and mind in Christ Jesus
(Philip 4:7). You cannot understand it humanly. You can only experience it. The peace of
God lies too deep in your being to be touched by any external disturbances.
The story is told of a ship that ran on the rocks and everyone
perished except a small boy who was washed upon a rock in the sea. The next day certain
people found him there still clinging to the rock. After they brought him safely to land
they asked him whether he was afraid and trembled. "Yes," he replied, "but
the rock did not tremble."
So too is this Peace of God. Circumstances might be difficult
around you, but the Rock upon which you've built cannot be moved or shaken.