When Jesus had finished telling His disciples what was going to happen, and that they would all abandon Him, He gave them two vital pieces of encouragement.  Here's the first one:  ³³I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. The information Jesus shared about His impending death, and the disciples' reaction of scattering and leaving Him alone, could not have been anything but devastating. Yet, Jesus told them that He had let them know what was coming so they could have peace in Him.  The actual phrase is key:  "peace in me."  The peace they would know, and the peace we can know comes from our faith IN Jesus.

What does that mean?  It means not that we believe information about Jesus, but that we trust IN Him, that we lean into Him, relying on the reality that Jesus alone will never leave us nor forsake us, that Jesus alone can give us peace--a calm sense of assurance--no matter what happens.  If that sounds too good to be true, it isn't.  Jesus never made claims He didn't back up.  In fact, every promise Jesus ever made to His disciples came true--including that He would rise from the dead!--except one:  Jesus promised to return.  He hasn't done that yet.  It doesn't mean He won't, and He has given us the Holy Spirit to encourage and strengthen us while He's gone.  I'm banking on the truth that since EVERY other promise of Jesus was true, His promise to return is as well.  What about you?  Are you living your life with the calm assurance, the peace, only Jesus can provide?  What is going on right now in your life that you are not turning to Jesus to give you peace?  When life is hard do you have peace in Him, or do you worry, fret, and assume the worst?  As Jesus' followers we know the right answer to that last question, but knowing doesn't always mean doing.  Take some time right now, to refocus your heart and mind on Jesus and living in His peace--no matter what.  As you and I do that, we will experience the peace He promised, the peace Paul told us is beyond all human understanding.  That's what I'm talking about!

Let's pray:  Heavenly Father thank You for sending Jesus to be our peace in every situation.  Fill us with Your Holy Spirit that we may live IN that peace in this moment and throughout this day.  We ask this in the powerful name of Jesus, our risen Lord.  Amen.