by Kara Brown
PEACE
It seems elusive. 
One of those things that’s better known by its absence than its presence.
A thing that, once we feel it’s within our grasp, seems to quickly slip from our grip and we’re once again unsettled.
More often than not, things don’t seem calm and bright.
More often than not, they feel chaotic and grim.
But we know it doesn’t have to be that way.
We know it’s not supposed to be that way.
One of my favorite passages in the Bible is in John 14.
Right after Jesus tells his disciples not to let their hearts be troubled, He says “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”
Every time I read these words, I hear the heart of Jesus—why would I tell you something not true? What reason do you have to fear? You can trust me.
His invitation to his disciples to believe in God, and also in Him, extends the very peace our restless hearts long for.
And even then, our peace does not lie in the frailty of our wavering belief.
Not in our surroundings.
Not in all being calm.
But in Him.
In His presence.
In His promises.
His peace is not a stilling so much as a lifeline.
A way to be reconciled.
A way to be made whole.
A way to flourish.
And while, for those in Christ, God has already made good on that promise, we know we still wait.
We still wait for our complete fullness that is to come.
And in our waiting, in our longing, we can experience the fullness of His peace, knowing He has gone to prepare a place for us, and will come again, and take us to Himself (John 14:3).
Come, Lord Jesus.
“For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.” Ephesians 2:14
