Week 57: Peace be with you

“Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.” (Unknown)

“Sometimes God calms the storm, and sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms His child.” (Donna Wallis)

The sultan of Brunei, with an estimated fortune of $20 billion, is the fourth wealthiest royal in the world. The rich Seria oil fields in Brunei are the basic of his wealth.

The Sultan – educated in Britain – own the world’s largest palace, a variety of airplanes, dozens of cars, and some of the world’s top hotels, among them the Beverly Hills Hotel in California. He lives a life of ‘excessive’ luxury. He knows that he is the target of burglars, kidnappers, terrorists, against whom he must constantly guard. He owns several private houses and hotels in and around London and makes it a point to move from one to the other by only revealing his schedule to not more than a few trusted intimates.

What he cannot purchase is what he treasures most – peace of mind.

(I wonder, does our chief minister of Sarawak … have the same problem too)

Probably as you read this article; you need a peace of mind. You need what Jesus promised to His followers, “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:27) This kind of peace is not for a person who takes everything lightly – snaps his fingers, whistles, and sings. Nor the kind of peace that no matter what happens, he/she won’t be shaken and moved and not showing it when he/she feels the pain – that’s plastic! This kind of peace also not an attitude of ‘Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die’. No! This kind of peace is way much better!

The word translated “peace” in the Bible can also be translated “tranquility,” “harmony,” “concord,” “security,” “safety,” “prosperity,” and “felicity.” This kind of peace, ironically, doesn’t come from you. (Not even from Yoga or religious mediation practices!) It comes only from God, the source of peace. Those who believe in God have the Holy Spirit, God’s promise presence that is living within every believer. God’s Spirit brings peace of mind and heart as he guides you into productive living and comforts you in time of trouble.

Writing about the peace of God, John Edmund Haggai commended, “The assurance of peace is conditional upon no outside circumstance, for this peace is possible only through Christ. A life without Christ is a life without peace. Without Him you may have excitement, worldly success, fulfilled dreams, fun, and gratified passions – but you will never have peace!” I say, “Amen to that sir!”

I asked a pastor one day, “You always traveling from one long-houses to another; don’t you afraid that they might reject you badly?” He showed his unattractive smile and replied, “I’d encounter many difficulties before. And with all of these challenges, I have a peace of mind. Jesus is my peace and I’ll hold on to that for the rest of my life.”

Indeed, money can’t buy a peace of mind. Owning the largest palace and lots of ‘toys’ doesn’t attract peace to us… You need to ask from the Giver itself, and that is what Jesus Christ’s offers to you. Jesus is ‘the Prince of Peace’. (Isaiah 9:6)

Peace be with you brothers and sisters,

Richard

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

“I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”