Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. (John 14:27)
honestly, who feels more peaceful just after reading this verse? in moments of intense stress, i never get much consolation from reading a verse like this, telling me not to feel troubled. the verse goes right to the head, but not the heart. i comprehend, but i cannot perceive it.
similarly, the Bible tells us repeatedly to 'love your neighbour as yourself', but it is so difficult to obey the commandment.
think it is nihon no tomo who said this long ago in our uni days - memorising scriptures, though immensely important, should be done in the context of our relationship with Christ. the Word helps us to understand God's character and ways better, but most importantly, we need to come to an understanding of who God is, and most importantly, His love for us. it takes a personal relationship with God to trust and find peace in Him.
most of the time though, we treat the Word as Band-Aid, finding relevant verses for specific problems, but never quite seeing the holistic picture of God's plan for our lives. how can we find peace in God if we do not know Christ as our Prince of peace? and how can we forgive others if we do not know that, 'as far as the east is from the west has God removed our sins from us'? that is why Band-Aid verses don't seem to work very much.
until we know the author of the Word personally, words remain words and have no power over our lives.
this is what i am learning for myself recently:
there are many circumstances and situations that i want to change, but nothing budges. it seems to me that everything is simply beyond human control, well, at least, my control. more importantly, i am really not sure that i am up to what is asked of me. i have only faith the size of a mustard seed, but i need to see mountains move. Lord, i believe in Your plan for my life. i believe that Your grace is sufficient for me, for your power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Cor 12:9)
