I love the passage in Luke immediately after the resurrected Jesus appears to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. As they journey, Jesus shows Himself to them, blesses and breaks bread with them, and then disappears…literally (Luke 24: 30-31). Those disciples, Cleopas and the unnamed other, return hastily to Jerusalem to share their exciting news with the eleven. Upon their arrival, they find the disciples all together. If I were to guess, I would say that the disciples were all shut in behind closed doors, maybe even locked in, trapped inside by their feelings of fear and despair and grief. I know I would have been. Can you even begin to imagine their feelings in those moments and days following Jesus’s death on the cross? Think about it…after walking with Jesus daily for three years, after loving Him and serving Him….after learning from Him….they now need to somehow reconcile themselves with the truth that He is actually gone. How could they even begin to wrap their minds around that horrifying truth? How could they ever understand that fact? How could they ever make any sense of that tremendous feeling of loss? Honestly, just thinking about their sorrow makes me tear up. This Man they loved, the One they devoted their entire lives to following, is now gone. What despair! What grief! And, as if all of those feelings are not enough, they have to deal with their feelings of betrayal. Betrayal because someone who had walked alongside them, someone who had lived with them, served with them, even ministered together with them, had participated in the greatest act of disloyalty ever recorded. So yes, they are shut in, trapped inside together, and yes, they are afraid.
But Jesus…. The Bible records that, suddenly, “Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you” (Luke 24:37). Those poor disciples! What a rollercoaster of emotions they must have gone through that day! Sorrow, despair, disbelief, uncertainty, fear….a little more disbelief…a lot more fear. Mark actually records that “they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit” (24:38). But then, following all the fear and disbelief? JOY! And then? PEACE.
Can you picture it? Jesus just shows up. He doesn’t even open the door. He just appears among them. And the first words out of His mouth? “Peace to you” (Luke 24:37). Jesus walks into that tragic room full of fear and uncertainty and despair and grief and sorrow….and HE BRINGS PEACE! I love that! Because Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
That is actually one of my favorite stories in the Bible, one of my favorite pictures of Jesus. Jesus enters the room and brings peace. In the midst of their chaotic and turbulent emotions, Jesus brings peace. And that’s the same truth today. In the midst of your chaotic and turbulent emotions, Jesus brings peace. Whatever you’re facing….whatever room you find yourself shut up in….whatever situation is causing you stress and anxiety….whatever situation is leading to sorrow and grief….whatever situation is resulting in uncertainty and fear…. invite Jesus into that room with you. Guaranteed….He will bring peace.
Jesus says in John, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (14:27). The Bible says in Philippians that we have access to “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding”….His peace that “will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (4:7). I love that! The peace of God is your portion today….literally His peace….a peace that doesn’t even make sense….a peace that we cannot even begin to wrap our mortal brains around. That peace is mine….and that’s the truth today. Whether we understand it or not (and I can guarantee that we won’t!), we can walk out of that room we’ve been trapped in, that room full of depression and anxiety and uncertainty and fear and grief, with a peace that makes no sense to us or to those around us. How amazing is that?! It’s simply beyond amazing!
So let me ask the obvious question: Is it easy to walk in the peace of God? Absolutely NOT! Haha. Silly question 😂. But is it doable? ABSOLUTELY! Because the Word tells us it is. Yes, the peace of God, that peace that passes all understanding, is ours. Without doubt and without question. It’s an undeniable truth, an irrefutable promise in God’s word. Jesus wants to enter that room you’re shut up in, and He wants to bring you His peace. Without doubt and without question. Unfortunately, another truth is that there will be lots of days when that peace feels a little elusive (or maybe a lot). Yet our feelings on the subject do not alter the truth of the Word, of Who Jesus is. When the Bible says that the peace of God, which passes all understanding, guards your heart and mind through Christ Jesus, then that means it’s already yours. It’s already mine. We already have it. We just need to turn it on….to live in it and to walk in it. Haha…. I know…trust me, I know….those words are a whole lot easier to say or write than to do. Trust me. Been there, done that…. But my failure to walk and live in the peace of God in no way negates the fact that I have the peace of God. That is a capital T TRUTH straight from the Bible. So, practice the peace of God today. Practice letting Him carry the weight of your burdens, of your fear, of your anxiety, of your stress, and of your distress. Practice letting His peace guard your heart and mind today. Paul tells us how: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). Practice living in the peace that passes understanding by simply choosing not to be anxious, by simply praying and being thankful. In everything…whether in the good or in the bad. In everything. Then, “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). And then, the Prince of Peace will walk into that room with you and say, “Peace to you” (Mark 24:37).
Enjoy the peace of God today!