Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Left Behind for the Packing



“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
John 14:27 NASB

As I take this verse from John and mix it well with the great line Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all you labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” I come up with something very tender for my soul. Together or separate they make a comforting place to lay my weary head.

Before leaving for His journey back to heaven Christ left with us His example to follow, His love to copy, and His peace to rest within us. Peace not like the world gives but true peace to where there’s no need for our hearts to be troubled or fearful. It’s because of that peace we do find rest for those weary souls caught in a yoke to heavy to carry.

I don’t think anyone in their right mind would turn away “true” peace but unfortunately we do. We think His peace comes with too high of a price when the price was already paid for by His blood. We don’t like giving up the things we enjoy in exchange for His kind of tranquility. Our reasoning is we will get that peace after we die and find ourselves either skipping around on the streets of “paradise” or living it up with all our buddies in “no rules attached” hell.

How stiff-necked and blind can we be? Jesus’ peace isn’t like a medication designed to be taken only once a month, He is something we need to carry in our hearts daily wherever we go. He’s not an inhaler that is brought out only when we find ourselves out of breath. Nor an umbrella that comes out strictly in the rainy season.

Whether we recognize it or not we need His peace today. It is what gets us through tomorrow and allows us to let go of yesterday. As the world is today we may never know what its like to be in total peace but with Jesus we can. We have been given His “perfect” peace to rest our weary spiritual souls upon. ( Isaiah 26:3,4 “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, For in Yah, the Lord is everlasting strength.”) The kind of peace that is true and total and guaranteed to last forever. A peace He left behind for us to pack up and take with us.

Living in the country all my life being engulfed in the quietness around me is very peaceful until a jet flies over or a mean bull catches wind that I’m in his territory. Strolling down the ocean beach listening to the waves talk is ever so relaxing and peaceful until a storm comes or a sneaker wave shows up. Flying high above the earth in an airplane can be a peaceful moment until interrupted by wind pockets, lightning flashes, and flocks of geese.

UNTIL…..why wait for the “until” to pick up what we need to be stocking up on today. If you think about it, we are not very good shoppers. Frequently we shop for things that will only last a short while or UNTIL the expiration date stamped on the bottom of it runs out. The choice is ours. Temporary or permanent. Everlasting or short-lived. True or false. Now or never.

As we should never wait until the lights go out to get the batteries we need for our flashlight (although I’m guilty of that) we should never wait to store up on Jesus’ peace until the lights go out and we fall alive into eternity.

Christ left it behind for us to pack for our trip to Heaven. Get it into your luggage today!


Our host this day is Miss Patricia drinking on her coffee and trying to type one-handed so visit her at, Typing One-Handed. Travel light but travel with Jesus surrounded in the luxury of His perfect peace.

6 comments:

Vintage Whimsy Studio said...

Hi Karen! Thanks for stopping by for a visit today ;o) And thank you for the encouraging words in your post. I know that I tend to forget to remember - you know, it is there all the time like you said, but I get so caught up in the moment by moment demands on my time that I lose track of the reality of the peace that is right there all along. I appreciate your reminder. N

Miriam Pauline said...

Love the picture of storing up Jesus' peace before we need it. Bless you for sharing.

Esthermay Bentley-Goossen said...

I agree that people in their "right" mind would never turn away "true" peace. Problem is: if we aren't truly saved, we are NOT in our right mind. (That leaves many people out of their minds!) Lol!
:-)
"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." (I Cor. 1:18)
Excellent post. I agree with everything you say today! Praise God for HIS Peace and HIS Word to direct us to It.
Blessings to YOU!
~esthermay

Denise J. Hughes said...

"[His peace] is what gets us through tomorrow and allows us to let go of yesterday." Oh, how right you are! Only the peace from Jesus gets me through today and helps me to let go of yesterday. Your words are such a great reminder of where our peace truly comes from. Thank you for sharing today.

Patricia said...

Karen, great word pictures today. Thank you for sharing this post. I enjoyed the reminders to rely on the gift of peace Jesus left us.

Debbie Petras said...

You are so good with these little stories to help us remember the quotes. I love how a country girl and a city girl can interact on our blogs. Isn't blogging fun?

Blessings,
Debbie