The Great Life Peace
27 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 14:27 ESV
Let not your heart be troubled. John 14:1 Whenever a thing becomes difficult in personal experience, we are in danger of blaming God, but it is we who are in the wrong, not God, there is some perversity somewhere that we will not let go. Immediately we do, everything becomes as clear as daylight. As long as we try to serve two ends, ourselves and God, there is perplexity. The attitude must be one of complete reliance on God. When once we get there, there is nothing easier than living the saintly life; difficulty comes in when we want to usurp the authority of the Holy Spirit for our own ends.
Whenever you obey God, His seal is always that of peace, the witness of an unfathomable peace, which is not natural, but the peace of Jesus. Whenever peace does not come, tarry till it does or find out the reason why it does not. If you are acting on an impulse, or from a sense of the heroic, the peace of Jesus will not witness; there is no simplicity or confidence in God, because the spirit of simplicity is born of the Holy Ghost, not of your decisions. Every decision brings a reaction of simplicity.
My questions come whenever I cease to obey. When I have obeyed God, the problems never come between me and God, they come as probes to keep the mind awake and amazed at the revelation of God. Any problem that comes between God and myself springs out of disobedience; any problem, and there are many, that is alongside me while I obey God, increases my ecstatic delight, because I know that my Father knows, and I am going to watch and see how He unravels this thing.
Chambers, Oswald (2011-05-01). My Utmost for His Highest, Classic Edition (pp. 259-260). Discovery House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
John 14:27 is one of those verses that brings me close to tears each time slow down and meditate on it. Jesus is speaking to his disciples near the end of his life, possibly within just days of his impending crucifixion. He is aware of what his immediate future holds- pain, humiliation, rejection. Yet he is speaking a word of peace to his disciples.
His focus is concern, not the cross. He wishes to comfort, not be comforted. He wants to protect, not be protected. At the point in his life where by all logical thinking he should be withdrawing, retreating, trembling, he is continuing to minister to the needs of others.
Remember that Christ was 100% man and only his "complete reliance on God" made this possible. As Christ obediently moved toward the cross, he was assured of His father's approval and salvation brought about by the "witness of unfathomable peace".
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