“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:26-27, ESV)
“We are anticipating significant turbulence during today’s flight,” announced the pilot before take-off.
Ugh. Those are words I hate to hear when I am on a plane, especially when traveling alone. I admit I get easily anxious on an airplane, especially if the ride gets bumpy. I was returning home to my husband after visiting my daughters in Chicago, when I heard the announcement. My heart started to beat a little faster as I looked around the cabin of the plane. What if it gets really bumpy and I panic? Whose hand can I squeeze for comfort?
That’s when I made a choice. I could go down the rabbit-trail of my thoughts, which would most likely end with a scenario of the plane crashing, or I could fix my mind and heart on Jesus. I decided to pray…and pray some more…focusing on Jesus sitting right next to me. I remembered the words of Jesus as he reassured his disciples of the presence of the Holy Spirit in John 14.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”
In John 14, Jesus was preparing his disciples for some extremely turbulent times ahead. Betrayal. Chaos. Hatred. Sorrow. Even though life was going from bad to worse for Jesus’ followers, they could trust that Jesus would not leave them as orphans.
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:18, ESV)
I don’t know about you, but I sure need that reassurance from Jesus today. When each days’ headlines seem to get worse, and the “turbulence” of a few weeks ago seems like smooth sailing, we can call out to our Savior Jesus. We can choose to trust in His promise that He will not leave us, and that He will give us Peace. And we may need to make that choice over and over again each day!
In the coming days, let’s encourage each other to reach out to at least ONE other person and share the Peace and Good News of Jesus.
I would love to hear from you and how you have received the Peace of Jesus!
Comments