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." ~Jesus

*Worldly peace: defined as absence of conflict

*Jesus Peace: confident assurance in any circumstance; with
Christ's peace we have no need to fear the present of the future.

This morning I am blessed to know the difference between a temporary gift and an eternal one. When you are not a follower of Christ, much is experienced on the surface, the hunger or desire to want more is never quite satisfied. This can be a long and painful road, searching for things to fill that hunger, the deeper parts of your being.

We were never meant to fill ourselves with temporal things. When you are reborn in Christ, you operate on a "spirit" level. Things are no longer temporary. They become eternal. Your spirit is eternal. The above passage is just one example of a gift given from God.

Peace. Who doesn't want peace? I'm not talking the peace that lasts 2 seconds while the family is scarfing down a meal as you take short breaths to last you until the kids are in bed... I'm talking about a peace that surpasses all emotion, all circumstances, all understanding. Eternal peace is not the absence of caring, it is not the absence of emotion, it is not the absence of conflict. Peace is allowing circumstances beyond your control to play themselves out, knowing that God will be glorified despite your best efforts to hold the world in the palm of your hand. Peace is a choice. As your mind chooses to go in a direction of fear, you choose to stand firm in the truth.

What is the truth? Creation, Salvation, redemption, Gods
Word, Your spirit, the process of becoming more like and glorifying God. These things are eternal. These thing have all lasted, and will continue to last. Put your hope in the one eternal God, out of your desire for Him will come His gifts. Peace is just one.

Father, today as we are surrounded by situations that do not feel like peace, I pray that you will give our spirits the foundation of what your peace in our lives looks like. If we do not yet know who you are, I pray you reveal yourself to us, and continue to let us go hungry until you are the source of our satisfaction. I praise you for making us with a built in need to be satisfied by only you. Reveal yourself to us, so we we in return can be filled by you and reflect your glory to others.