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“My Peace I Give You”

In John 14, Jesus gives His disciples His longest recorded set of instruc­tions. After sharing all sorts of directives and revelations, He looks at those He loves dearly and says, “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).

In the very last hours of His life, knowing that He will soon face torture and death, Jesus is concerned with His disciples’ hearts. I know that my mind and my body cannot be free from anxiety until I fix my heart on Him, but I confess: My heart is all too often troubled, and I imagine yours is too.

In the same conversation, Jesus describes His impending death and warns His disciples of all manner of terrible things that are going to happen to them. He says, “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).

Take heart? Jesus has just told His friends that He is going to be betrayed and killed—that He is “going away” (John 16:7). They have given up their entire lives to follow Him, and He is going to leave? My reaction would have been to panic, but He instructs His disciples to grab hold of deep peace and assurance.

So often, I am looking for peace in the external—my circumstance, my life season, my absence of emergencies or interruptions—but the shift I need is internal.

I want a peace that permeates my life and flows out of it. I want a peace that settles down over my heart so that even as the world around me is pulled apart, my thoughts and emotions are fixed on a constant savior, a sure eternity, and a certainty that we are safe in His hands. I want to be able to breathe deeply because I know that Jesus is in the boat with me, no matter the storm I am facing.

What circumstances are robbing you of Jesus’s peace today? What would it look like to “take heart” despite those circumstances, knowing that Jesus has overcome the world?