He Himself is our peace...

by Elizabeth Stewart

The trees were beautifully adorned in their golden autumn colors as my husband and I were driving home yesterday afternoon.  I wanted to capture the beauty in a quick phone photo through the windshield, but the phone focused more on the raindrops than the trees.

The background of the verse seen in the photo above and found in Ephesians chapter two is the enmity between the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers.  The Jewish believers were having a hard time accepting the fact that those "uncircumcised Gentiles" had the same access to salvation through Jesus Christ that they did.  Paul goes on to explain that Christ Himself is our peace and has abolished the enmity between the two and has made us into one body in Him. Paul was trying to shift their focus off of the raindrops, their differences, and onto the beauty of God's plan, that all those who accept salvation through Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, are part of Christ's body.

It's so very easy to focus on the raindrops in our life, isn't it?  I read or watch the news and my focus becomes on how messed up our world is, blinding me to the fact that God and His people are up to some incredible things in the the midst of the mess.  My husband makes me coffee, and I notice that he didn't wipe up the small spill he made on the countertop causing me to I lose my focus on what a blessing he is.  A problem in our body of believers can get my focus off of the blessing of the recent influx of new believers we are currently discipling.  The examples might be different for you.  Perhaps your focus is on how hard it is to get anything done around the house with little ones constantly demanding your attention and making messes and it's blinding you to the beauty and blessings found in this stage of your life.  Perhaps, not of your own choosing, you are single, divorced, or widowed and the pain of your situation is making it difficult for you to see God's faithfulness, presence and provision in the middle of your pain.  There are as many different examples as there are people.  The "raindrops" we are focused on could be anything. Some of you may even  be thinking, my focus isn't on a few raindrops, I'm in the middle of a category five hurricane force storm in my life!  The disciples were in the same boat, literally!  They were in such a bad storm that they feared for their lives. They were so focused on the storm that they lost sight of the fact that the Master of the Universe was on the boat with them! When the disciples awakened Jesus, (Who was at perfect peace in spite of the stormy weather and was taking a nap!), He rebuked the storm and it immediately ceased.

While it would be wonderful if Jesus would cause every storm we face to cease, our peace is not found in having a storm free existence.  Our peace is only found in the source of peace Himself,  Jesus Christ.  Life will always steer us in the direction of focusing on the raindrops, on whatever it is that is currently annoying us, worrying us, or even devastating us. The enemy loves to accentuate whatever we are facing, and completely blind us to anything but our difficult circumstances.  Peace comes when we can focus on the Prince of Peace instead of the storm.  In every storm we face, He does not forsake us, He's in it with us. The next step is to move past just focusing on Him, to hiding in Him.  We need to move into, abide and dwell in the Refuge and Stronghold that is Jesus Christ. We need to actually learn to live in the One Who is our Peace and to live in the peace that He promises and provides.  

 "Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. 

Not as the world gives do I give to you. 

Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 

[Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed;

 and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]"

John 14:27 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

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