As the world goes into an unprecedented turbulence our lives, as Christians, are not to be led without focus and confidence, but with the believe that we are destined to shine the light of God’s truth in a dark and troubled world through faith in Jesus Christ.
But how can we fulfil this mandate if we who are the harbinger of peace are as restless and troubled as the world?
Jesus teaches that we must have a sense of purpose that transcends the pervasive fear around us that we may shine through as children of God in a world filled with distress.
Besides sin, many Christians have lost their grip on the word of God because of worldly burden and worries, and because of the fear of what may come.
Jesus however teaches us not be discouraged by the many trials and temptations of this present world which has kept many away from the light of God.
In fact, what Jesus reveals about the present circumstances of the world should keep us grounded in hope and confidence, knowing that we have a Master who is omniscience, and nothing takes him by surprise.
For example, in John 16:33 (NLV) he says, “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.”
What is Jesus saying here about overcoming the distress of the present world?
The peace that Jesus promises is that Christians should have an inward knowledge that He is in control of the past, present, and future and therefore this knowledge ought to establish our heart with a firm believe that counters the forces of the devil, temptations, the flesh, and the antagonism of the world. This believe when held firmly exudes power and peace in the believer.
Therefore, while men find their peace in the uncertain and slippery courses of the world a Christian’s peace should come from the firm believe that the source of his joy is anchored in Jesus’s promises.
In John 14:27 Jesus again assures Christians saying: “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid’. The operation of this gift remains a mystery to the world because they do not believe in Jesus.
How do we exercise this peace after believing in the promise of Jesus Christ? We do this by acknowledging that though we are physically present in this world and partake in its system, but we don’t lose the consciousness that we are Ambassadors of Christ’s Kingdom here on earth and that our citizenship is in heaven. (Philippians 3:20).
Our Ambassadorial position on earth cannot be valid and productive without an act of consecration which requires giving ourselves to the Lord to become “a living sacrifice,” as Paul says in Romans 12:1: “I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.”
It will be difficult to exercise the promised peace of the Lord if we keep compromising our stand for Jesus in this world and submitting ourselves to the principles of the world which is designed to fulfill satanic desires.
The peace the Lord promises abounds the more we submit to the word of God and consecrates our life to please him. As we believe in the promised peace of Jesus we must also be doers of the word which requires a daily submission to the will of God.
To this effect, the Bible warns in James 1:22: ‘Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says’. Disobedience is always found at the lack of peace coursing through our present world.
In Isaiah 57:20, God reveals the true state of the disobedient: “But those who still reject me are like the restless sea, which is never still but continually churns up mud and dirt.
As you deepen your walk with God and hand over the rein of your life to him, ‘I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit’. (Romans 15:13), amen.
Reading
John 14: 1-21
