Peace

John 14:27 

Peace I leave 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.

PEACE! Wouldn’t it be wonderful! No more anxiety. No more fighting. No more angry words. Peace of Mind! 

I remember waking up every morning as a little girl, filled with excitement because a school day lay ahead. I loved school and could think of nothing else when my heart was so full of that special love. Unfortunately, nights were another story altogether. At night the nightmares and worries of what-ifs filled my head. My daddy was abusive and the worries of what his anger might bring often made sleep elusive or brought terrifying nightmares. 

He ran away when I was nine, but my worries and fears continued. The "what ifs" plagued me constantly—except in school. School was my safe place, my haven. I felt loved and at peace, whether at school physically or there in my imagination.  

You know, prayer can be similar to imagination. If we pray for peace and imagine it, we can feel it. In prayer we can draw ever closer to Jesus and feel His Peace. Imagining how His Peace feels draws that peace closer and closer. We can feel Him with us and He brings Peace. 

When we feel anxious about the news or worried about the other shoe dropping, we can move into Jesus’ promised Peace. If we turn to that Peace in our minds, hand over our worries to Jesus, and hold tight to His Peace, it becomes real. When we turn over the worries to Jesus and hold Him close, the nightmare is over. Resting in His Peace may not make everything perfect in the physical world, but His Promise is true… “Peace I leave 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.” 

Get on your knees or go into your quiet place and reach for Him in prayer. Let go your worries and imagine His Peace. It is there waiting for us. We can find it. He has overcome the world. 

Let’s pray together:

Lord you promised us in Jeremiah 29:13 that we will seek you and find you, when we seek you with all our hearts. Please help us to do just that. To find time alone with you and to seek your Peace with all our hearts. Then finding that beautiful Peace, help us then to spread it around, everywhere we go. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Today’s podcast was written and read by Bernice Howard. 

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. 

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org. 

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.