A well-known verse from the Gospel of John Chapter 14 “ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you”, but what is Peace?
Many see it as a state of quietness, no noise to distract us, but is that the case? People will long for peace and quiet, but is that all it is? I recently attended a retreat day ran by the Scargill community in the Yorkshire Dales, which was relayed via Zoom. There were quite a few problems in the morning with the internet access, which meant that we were unable to hear the speaker fully. However, at lunchtime when we broke into small groups to discuss the sessions, one lady commented that in the midst of the chaos she had felt an overwhelming sense of peace, and this had enabled her to undertake a difficult task that she had been putting off. You will be relieved to hear that the speaker emailed her transcript over so no one missed out, as we could read it at leisure later.
God’s peace is a feeling, an inner state of mind, and something that can be felt in the midst of chaos, trauma or noise. During the current pandemic many of us are unable to feel peace but that is because of the uncertainty we face. As Christians our certainty is that God is with us throughout the whole pandemic, and He will be there with us at the end, or when we are standing in line to receive our vaccines. Many of us are uncertain about the vaccines, usually drugs are checked for many years before being given to the public, but here we have a vaccine that has been a few months in the making!
If you go on to read the next verse in John, it goes on to say “I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid”. Perhaps handing everything over in prayer will grant us that peace, the peace so many of us crave for. An inner sense of knowing that someone else is in control, but this is something that takes time to achieve. When you fly for the first time, its difficult to feel at peace as you are uncertain of what may happen, but people who fly regularly are able to sit back and relax as they know that someone else has it under control. God has it under control as well, but it takes time for us to learn to trust in Him completely.
During the pandemic many have sought solace in the outdoors, and perhaps that is somewhere where outer peace can be found. How many have found a quiet area in their gardens or local area, to sit quietly and listen to the birds. However inner peace is something different and is found through spending time with God, whether praying or reading his word in your bibles.
I hope that in this Advent season you will be able to find the peace we all crave for – that gentle reminder that God is always with us today and every day.
God bless
Diane