True Peace is Found in Jesus

Have you ever seen the bumper sticker which says, “Know Jesus, Know Peace…No Jesus, No Peace”?  I think this sticker is right on the money.  Today I was reading in Isaiah 56-58 and in part of this passage Isaiah is contrasting the life of the wicked versus the life of the godly.  Here is a portion of what he says about the wicked:  But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.  21 “There is no peace,” Says my God, “for the wicked.”  (Isaiah 57:20-21)  I know that we don’t have a lot of “coastline” in central PA, well, we really have no coastline here at all but many of us have seen the ocean or at least a large body of water that is turning and churning because of a storm.  Isaiah is right on the mark as he describes the fact that the sea looks like it is troubled.  It looks like it cannot rest.  It churns up mud and dirt and just seems almost angry.  Isaiah says that the wicked are like that.  There is something within that churns and turns.  No amount of money or fame or anything else this world can offer can calm the storm that rages within.  We often see this in the lives of the rich and famous when adversity hits.  It is adversity that can churn the waters like nothing else.  And though fame and money can seem to calm the waters of our lives, they are both useless when true adversity or suffering strikes.  Without Jesus Christ, the churning and turning never stops.  There is no peace.

Yet for the follower of Jesus Christ peace is available.  It is a fruit of the Spirit who indwells each believer.  We will face adversity and suffering, sometimes because we are followers of Jesus, but peace is always there.  Philippians 4:6-7 tells us that the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  We have peace in Jesus.  We have peace because of our relationship with the living God.  So, when you read about the latest celebrity marriage breaking up or Donald Trump losing his hair, pray for them.  Pray that God would bring them to a point where they would know Jesus.  Then and only then can they know peace.  For the rest of us whose picture never makes it on a magazine, let’s be thankful for the peace that comes through knowing Jesus and let us not allow Satan to steal that peace from us.  Rather, let’s have faith in God, and let’s listen to some other words from Isaiah, found in chapter 26, verse 3:  You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.

Have a blessed, peace-filled day!

 

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