Day 2 - Week 25 -John 14:27 "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."

I love the things that Robert J. Morgan has to say about this verse.  Here are some of his words,

This is one of the Bible's greatest verses about inner peace, spoken by our Lord in His upper room discourse (John 13-17) on the night He was betrayed.   As the disciples listened to Jesus speaking that night, they must have cringed at the second and third words of he verse: I leave.  Throughout the upper room discourse, Jesus sought to prepare His disciples for His death, resurrection, and departure from earth.  But as He went to the cross, to the grave, and into the skies, He was planning to leave one aspect of Himself behind:  Peace I leave with you.

And it wasn't just generic or generalized peace.  It was His own internal realms of infinite peace:  My peace I give to you.  He wasn't bestowing it to them in a temporary, inconsistent or conditional way: I do not give to you as the world gives.  He was giving them a legacy of peace that had the power forever to banish fear and trouble from their hearts:  Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.

And then he adds this last paragraph that I really love, because it make me truly feel this filling of peace from Jesus in such a  personal way....

Notice that this verse falls naturally into four phrases.  You can memorize it one small sentence at a time.  Realize that Jesus was speaking these words to you and me just as clearly and immediately as they were spoken to the disciples two thousand years ago.  Once you memorize this verse, you can close your eyes and listen to Jesus saying it to you at any time.

When you find yourself in those times of such desperate need of peace, this is the verse to fall back on---to stop, take deep breaths, and let wash over you.  We have a Savior who has given us many gifts, don't forget that one of His gifts to us is peace.  What a horrible witness we are to people who have not come into relationship with Jesus Christ when we exhibit lives lacking deep, inner core, peace.  When we look just like the rest of the world in our lack of confidence regarding our futures, in our frustration with the things that just don't go right in our lives, in our desperation when we see goals go by the wayside...we are not looking like a people who have been given a peace that surpasses anything that this world can offer. 

Wake up - breath in the deep and satisfying peace that Jesus has given to us, knowing that He has promised to walk beside forever.