Brothers and sisters, if the Lord appears to us in the meeting today, can you guess what He will say to us first? Possibly it may be similar to what He said to the disciples. After His resurrection, He appeared and said to them, “Peace be with you!” One day when we see the Lord, we will have eternal peace. While we are still on earth, the Lord left His peace with us. Among so many things He could have given us, the Lord especially gives us peace. Peace must be extremely important. When He appeared to His disciples, many times He said to them, “Peace be with you!” This is the way how Jewish people greet one another. However, the Lord did not just use it for greetings, but He truly wants us to have peace. Mary sat at the Lord’s feet. If her heart had no peace, she would not have much enjoyment. A peaceful heart is fundamental to all spiritual things. If there is no peace, there is also no way to have joy. Having peace in our hearts is the first step. When we have peace, we can have joy and other spiritual blessings at the same time. If we lose peace, we will also lose them all. The Lord knows the importance of having peace. Therefore, He left peace with us.
Indeed, it also tells us the Lord’s desire and His longing. He longs for us to have a peaceful heart to enjoy the friendship and love fellowship with Him. We can deeply enjoy the mutual heart to heart fellowship: we enjoy Him and He also enjoys us! This peace is not just merely a state of peace, but it is His love desire which is the reason behind the peace He gives us. If our hearts are troubled, we won’t have much enjoyment and how can we respond to Him? Therefore, we first need to settle our hearts and make ourselves in harmony with Him. We need to enjoy Him first and then we can respond to Him. The Bible says no one has first given to Him and that it might be repaid to him. When we enjoy the Lord more, He will also enjoy us more. We will give Him more of our love response.
I encourage you to find a good place to draw near to the Lord, to eliminate things that may disturb you. Sometimes, it may be troubles and sometimes it may be other distractions. However, we should be captured by the Lord, His glory and His beautiful heart towards us. Hence, we will be transformed. A troubled spirit ruins our fellowship with the Lord and decreases our spiritual enjoyment. You can shout for joy! When you have peace deep down in your heart, shouting for joy will not disturb your peace. This is the right condition of your spirit. Let us enjoy the Lord more and more. He has already left peace with us.
We need to be aware whether our hearts are at peace or not. If not, the first thing we need to do is to regain the peace. If we do not obey the Lord, we will lose our peace. After we believed in the Lord, our conscience will be more sensitive. Our spirit can feel whether we have a good relationship with the Lord or not. When our spirit is not in condition, we need to return to Him immediately. You can cry out, “Lord, save me!” Faster than a blink of an eye will the Lord save you! When you sincerely ask Him for help, He will not delay! On the day when you repented from your sins and asked the Lord to save you, did He wait for 5 minutes before He saved you? Of course not! The Lord does not want you to continue in the state of failure and distress. He will save you immediately and help you to regain peace in your heart. When you show your willingness to return to Him and to listen to Him, He will give you peace. The Lord truly wants us to enjoy Him. He understands us and knows all our needs.
This peace is in the Lord. You cannot hold unto peace like keeping material things. All the spiritual blessings and riches are found in the living Lord. He is the conclusion of all spiritual blessings. Therefore, when we enjoy peace, we enjoy the Lord and the union with Him. The Bible mentions about the unsearchable riches in Christ. Among all the riches, we need to have peace first. Then the other blessings will be added to us. Usually, we will not just have peace alone. At the same time, we will also feel the joy in our heart and this joy is ever increasing.
John 14:27 says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” Here it emphasizes MY peace. This peace is the Lord’s peace. During that time, He faced much suffering. However, the Lord had immense peace in His heart. He spoke so many words to His disciples. If He did not a peaceful heart, how could he have spoken so many words of encouragement to them?
“Not as the world gives do I give to you.” Certainly, the world cannot give the Lord’s peace to us. Many people may say “Peace be with you!” when they travel. After they have said that, they may not have peace at all. Even if they may have a peaceful and safe trip, it is still not enough. We need peace in our hearts. When we live a life united with the Lord, we are surly at peace. If we lose peace, our fellowship with the Lord will be disturbed.
When you continue to live in Him, you continue to be at peace. Your mind is clear and is not troubled. Nowadays, many people are busy-minded and they find it difficult to focus. Do not think that having a pure and clear mind is foolish and thoughtless. It is not true at all. I hope that you always have a heart to heart fellowship with the Lord. Hence your mind is not occupied with many things that distract you.
There are so many apps in the cell phones today and some apps may be harmful to us, leading us to easily fall into temptations. If we just keep the essential apps but we invest too much time and energy on the phone, is it beneficial to us? Is that what the Lord wants you to to be occupied with? The Lord wants us to consider what He guides us to consider, and to do what He leads us to do. It does not mean that we do not have our considerations. Instead, our mind is more clear and have better understanding. We can realize His guidance more easily. We will gain more insights from Him. We will be more enlightened in Biblical truths.
The Bible says in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He will guide us in all aspects. When we are close to Him, He will give us good ideas in our ministry. Sometimes, in our ministry, we are confused by many other “voices” in our hearts. We cannot hear Him clearly and may not be so sure about His will. When our hearts are quiet and still, our mind will be clear and there will be no confusion. Our hearts being quiet and still does not mean that our mind is “frozen.” When our hearts are peaceful, He can guide our considerations. He can also help us to realize and enter the truth. We don’t need to think long and hard about the truth by our own strength.
The peace from the Lord is my real experience. I could have peace surpassing all understanding in the most troubled situations. “Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” (John14:1)