Peace from Outside Influences
“Peace I leave
with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not
let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).
The
disciples found themselves at the height of an emergency. They had taken their
boat out into the waters and were headed to the other side of the shore after
Jesus had preached a crowd. The Son of God was tired and had gone to the stern
of the boat to get some rest. While in the boat, a fierce storm began and the
waves from the water spilled over into the boat. The disciples became afraid
that they were going to drown so they went to awaken Jesus. They couldn’t
understand how He could sleep so peacefully during the storm while they were in
fear for their lives. Nevertheless, there was no reason for them to be afraid because
the Master of the sea was onboard. The Bible says, “He
got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the
wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, ‘Why are
you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’” (Mark 4:39-40).
Just
as there was a storm that presented itself in the midst of the disciples, there
are going to be times when we too will face ferocious storms. The devil will be
sure to bring them our way because it is his job to cause as much calamity in
our lives as he possibly can. Nevertheless, Jehovah Shalom is the Lord of Peace
who can restore order in all areas of our lives. He never promised that we
would not have storms, but He did promise that we could count on us to take us
through them. Sometimes, we want God to help Him avoid the storms altogether,
but our faith grows with our reliance on Him during the storms. Our faith may lie
dormant until we need it, but when we need it is when we know that we have it.
We must remember to surrender everything to Jehovah Shalom for He is our source
of peace and strength. The Bible says, “The Lord gives strength to his
people; the Lord blesses his people with peace” (Psalm 29:11).
We
are constantly being reminded of the evils that are taking place in this
society through social media, tv, radio, and news, which can leave many in an
array of distress. Nevertheless, the Word of God has warned us of what’s to
come prior to Jesus’ return so we would not be caught off guard. The Bible
says, “Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of
what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken” (Luke
21:26). Jehovah Shalom did not leave us without hope, and this is why
He has warned us so that we would be prepared if we took heed to His warnings. Unfortunately,
many people suffer internally because of their inability to experience the peace
of Jehovah Shalom. Although various influences can contribute to having health
issues such as depression, anxiety, heart attacks, high blood pressure, and
more, most of these things can be relieved if we turn all stress factors over to
the Lord of Peace.
There is no doubt that we live in
a sinful world that is full of stress factors such as jobs, family, bills, school,
and more, but we have to be mindful to never allow these things to disrupt the
peace that can only be found in Jehovah Shalom. It is easy to allow outside
influences to disrupt your inner peace. Nevertheless, just as Jesus was able to
peacefully sleep through a storm despite how rough it was, we can follow His
example as well by having faith to know that He will carry us through it all. “He
replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have
faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here
to here’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20).
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