I’m leaving you peace. I’m giving you my peace. I don’t give you the kind of peace that the world gives. So don’t be troubled or cowardly.
John 14:27
I s your life all calm right now, or is there some turmoil, some wavy seas? Where’s the peace that Jesus left you? Where’s the peace he said he gave you so that you won’t be troubled? Wouldn’t you rather have that than the mess you’re living in right now? Good. Then take it; it’s yours.
The peace you want hasn’t been yours so far because you are concentrating on yourself instead of God. That’s the secret of faith, ya know: concentrating on God, not on you. When you put your mind on you and your troubles, you are bound to be a wreck. That’s because you don’t have what it takes to calm the seas, but Jesus does (see Matt. 8:23–27).
So take your eyes off of your stuff and turn them onto him. Look God in the face and find peace. Don’t worry about taking your eyes off the trouble as if you’re taking them off the steering wheel of life—you aren’t. Looking up instead of in is really the only way through the maze of life. You don’t know what’s around the next corner, but God does. You can’t tell when this path ends and another begins, but God can. If you want peace, then peace is yours for the taking. Just give up fighting for it and focus on him.