Peace of God

"Peace, Peace, wonderful peace, coming down from the Father above..." are words from a song that may be very familiar to us.  I can remember singing that song on many occasions throughout my Christian life.  I am glad to report that the song is more than just words that flow from my mouth but I have seen the peace of God truly manifested at various moments and in various situations in my walk with Christ.  The peace of God is more than a myth; the peace of God is a definite revelation of the manifest presence of Christ!  Listen to the words of Jesus to the disciples who had scattered after the death of their Leader and supposed Savior.  They were afraid, discouraged, overwhelmed, and disappointed just to name a few of the emotions that they were feeling.  John 10:19, "On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you!" (NIV)

First, notice that the doors were locked.  Remember that no situation can stop Christ from drawing near to His children.  Haven't we all faced those situations when the enemy sought to convince us that Christ was unaware of the needs that we were facing?  Fear did not stop Christ from making His appearance to His disciples.  The fears that each of us face will not hinder the appearance of Christ to us as we face those moments that "peace" seems such a distant friend.  Second, notice that Christ stood among them.  He could have spoken peace to them from a distance; after all He had performed other miracles from a distance for His followers.  Yet we find Christ in the midst of the disciples whose lives had been captured and somewhat controlled by fear.  Remember the words of Paul in Romans 8 as he reminded us that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.  I truly believe that Christ will walk into the midst of our situation and pronounce the peace that we need at that moment.  The disciples did not need a "long distance" miracle they needed the intimate presence of their friend, mentor, and Savior.  Jesus enters through closed doors, stands in the midst of their fears, and makes this announcement; "Peace be with you!" 

Today Christ stands in the midst of your difficult moments whatever they may be and declares once more "Peace be with you!"  Make sure you take the time to hear His loving voice and remember that you are not alone.