Peace From God
What's the Difference?
In John 14:27, Jesus shares these words with His disciples, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."
Jesus clearly makes a distinction between the peace that this world tries to offer us, verses the peace that can only come from Him. So what exactly are the differences between the two?
The peace of Jesus deals with our inner being, while the peace from the world deals with external circumstances.
In this passage, Jesus is dealing with his disciples at a heart level. The peace He offers settles deep into the inner makeup of the human soul. It's not an emotion or a feeling. It's a state of being that comes directly from His own peace. His own peace comes and makes its home in the heart of all believers (John 14:15). The world does not hold the ability to offer this kind of peace.
The peace of Jesus surpasses human understanding, while the peace from the world is limited by human logic.
The peace of Jesus does not rely on logic, emotion, or circumstance like that of the world. The peace of Jesus encompasses a believer's heart in the very circumstances that would leave the average person in turmoil. In fact, when Jesus spoke these words to His disciples in John 14:27, He was referring to what would happen after He physically left them. Having your closest friend and your declared Savior tell you that He will soon be leaving you to a place where they could not yet go, doesn't exactly sound "peaceful". But He reassures them that after He left their physical presence, He would send the Holy Spirit to indwell them in their hearts and be of even more help to them. The world cannot offer such intimate or divine peace.
The peace of Jesus endures through suffering, while the peace of the world vanishes when challenged by hardship.
The world's definition of peace involves the absence of suffering. But while the world avoids conflict and hardship in order to maintain a superficial and temporary peace, the peace of Jesus dwells amidst suffering and hardship. The peace of Jesus exists during the very circumstances that peace just should not exist; it is a peace that "surpasses all understanding" (Philippians 4:7).
Can the world experience this peace from God without first being at peace with God? We will pick up with this question in the next devotional.
