Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Peace in God


John 14:27 says "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."

This is a verse that I came across tonight as I was talking to a friend about something that was concerning me. If we trust God, he promises us peace so we don't have to worry about the things that concern us. I can be quite the worrier when it comes to certain situations – and worry can leave me feeling sick. Yet, the more I get to know God, the more I read my Bible, the more time I spend in prayer, the less worry I feel. God is the only one who can give you true peace – a peaceful life that will leave you with greater happiness. 

I know what it's like not to have peace when you go to bed at night. Here's the scenario: You lie down in bed at night thinking about your day and you can't sleep, something doesn't feel right, you question all your actions that you did throughout the day, and somehow you wish you didn't live out today in the way you did, but you just had fun right? Why don't you feel satisfied at the end of the day when you go to bed? Nothing went wrong, nothing messed up. But at night you feel sick with your day; you lack peace in your life. That is what I used to feel like, I'd go to bed and I didn't want to look back at my day - something about it didn't feel right, I didn't feel comfortable in my own skin at the end of the day. 

There was a time in my life when I didn't feel like this, but at times it came and went. I remember thinking about why I felt this way, and I knew the answer but I didn't want to admit it to myself. Things had changed that year in school for me, I was extremely self-conscious - so maybe that's why I was feeling unsatisfied? But no. Something in my life was not giving me peace.  

I realized that summer what I had been missing. It was God. That year had been a rough one for me, I did things I had never done before, and yet I had fun with some new found friends - what could be wrong in that? In the process of having fun and trying new things, I forgot about God. I left him behind thinking that I could enjoy myself without having to worry about feeling bad about my foolish decisions and my declining grades. But the fact was that my soul missed God, my soul was what needed Him in my life. So that summer at camp, I found that complete peace in God I hadn't realized I was missing. The saying is true 'you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone' - I had forgotten that I used to go to bed feeling calm, not sick with worry or displeased with my life.

I now know that God is the only one who can give me complete peace. Ever since that point where I began trusting God once again, I have never felt the same way. I look forward to new things knowing that God is helping me through each day. I asked for peace, and God gave it to me. I still worry, but I pray too - and in that God answers my prayers, I know he will never leave me, so I don't have to be troubled, nor do I have to fear anything. 

The cool thing is that God wants us to have his peace! He wants us to be fulfilled with our lives, not to worry about the little things, but to be able to lie down at night and sleep peacefully. John 14:27 is a wonderful reminder of the peace God gives each and every one of us to asks him. 

Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart (Colossians 3:15) God bless! 

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for this Hannah! I honestly enjoy reading your blogs! Thanks for sharing your journey with God its been an awesome encouragement! <3

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