The Gift of Peace

            Jesus first words to His disciples after His resurrection were: Peace be with you (John 20:19).  I am convinced that Jesus’ most priceless gift to us living here on earth is peace given through the Holy Spirit.  Jesus gives us peace with God through our faith in His work for our salvation.  He also longs to give us peace every day that we live on earth separated from God though the Holy Spirit.

            Jesus lived on earth with the same kind of peace He wants us to have.  He was never worried; rather He constantly instructed others to not be afraid.  He was bewildered by His disciples’ lack of faith from life threatening storms, or threats of violence by religious leaders.  After all, they belonged to God now, why should they be afraid?

            Yes, this world is full of annoying realities.  It overflows with pressures and stress.  Every morning brings surprises, some good while others are disappointing.  From the beginning of sin in Genesis, the side effect of doubting God’s goodness has multiplied exponentially.  It’s true that God has not completely protected us from the ramifications of sin.  It is also true that God will give us peace to pass through anything we have to face on earth.

            In the midst of all the chaos, troubles and chores, there’s the way to peace.  It is through Jesus.  He wants us to focus on Him.  He wants to give us the peace of knowing that He is there for us and will never forsake us.  He wants us to know He is ever by our side, so when the torrential rains pour from the skies—even if it is on my daughter’s outdoor wedding—I can give peace.

            I’m writing this in the midst of the weekend wedding that I have been considering ever since my late husband and I started calculating what it would require to give our daughter a special wedding.  He started thinking about it first as the favorite part of his job as a minister was marrying young couples.  He began saving his many honorariums for the weddings he did and started a Rachel wedding fund.  He also took notes from the many wedding experiences to share with her.  We always teased that he would be the mother-of-the-bride nightmare they always tease about. 

            So here that weekend has just happened.  It has been nothing like any of us planned.  First of all, Rachel’s beloved father is not here to walk her down the aisle, instead her brother did that.  The ceremony is not at the beautiful Park Cities Baptist Church where I always hoped she would wed.  In fact, it isn’t even in a church at all.  Rachel’s father-in-law , rather than her father is the one who will perform the ceremony.  Weddings are stressful family experiences but we seem to be given extra peace from heaven.  Rachel is a dream bride, no falling apart from the terrors of what can go wrong.  She takes each day in stride, carefully marking off her list like a pro.

            There is incredible peace because she and her husband have chosen to glorify the Lord.  The verse they chose to focus on is Psalm 34:3: Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.  When we focus on glorifying the Lord, we can accept what He gives us.  We were given a miracle of perfect weather, sprinkling of rain that cooled down the night.  It’s just some much better to experience in peace!

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