WHAT ABOUT THE FEARFUL?

John 14:27 (NLT)

 

"I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid."

 

 

Peace of mind and heart.  Wow!  Now THAT is a gift.  You know, most people have "worry" as their default setting.  I have to admit that sometimes I wake up  in the middle of the night with something on my mind and there is no chance that I am going back to sleep . . . at least not for a while.  I think about it (whatever IT is) and try not to think about it; sometimes I get up and read a book until I fall asleep.  And sometimes I do what I should and pray until I fall asleep.  But what I need to do is put Christ's gift to use. 

 

I run into people all the time who are really afraid.  They're afraid that they didn't accomplish everything they should have yesterday, or that something they did was wrong.  They are afraid they will run into an obstacle they can't navigate around somewhere sometime today and it will cause them to fail or flounder or fall.  And they are deathly afraid of tomorrow.  As the old sailors put it, "there be dragons there!"  Disease or poverty or calamity or death; who knows what tomorrow might hold . . .

 

Well, I don't know what tomorrow might hold either, but I know the one who knows.  And He is the same one who said to His followers, "I am leaving you with a gift.  I am giving you peace.  Peace for your heart and peace for your mind.  Unlike the faux peace you can find in the world, this gift will never run out or go stale or sour.  It is always fresh.  It is a peace that's fashioned from my mercy and my faithful love and made new every morning.  So don't be troubled and don't be afraid."

 

Friend, you don't even have to ask Jesus for this gift.  He dropped it off for you on His way home.    

 

Have a great and PEACEFUL day!

 

--- Pastor Keith Andrews