Real Peace

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

John 16:33

HOW DO WE find peace of mind in the midst of the circumstances many of us encounter? A single mom faces a pile of bills. Though she knows and trusts Jesus, it’s hard for her not to give in to despair when the financial deadlines approach and no help has appeared.

An older man gets his walking papers at the job he’s given himself to for years. Now he knows he may be too old to find something comparable. He believes in the Lord, but hanging in there month after month with no job prospects gets harder and harder.

You can name any number of circumstances and you probably know people in the midst of them. How do Christians maintain their balance in such times? God never promises we won’t face hard times—even bitterly hard times—in this world.

What he does promise, though, is to give us peace in the midst of trials. What is that peace? Philippians 4:6-7 speaks of it as a supernatural, incomprehensible peace that the world cannot grasp but the Christian can. It’s the peace Christ gives to us because we know he will be there with us, will meet our basic needs in the midst of troubles, and will get us to our destination—heaven—safely.

That’s powerful peace. Do you need some now? Just ask.