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SCRIPTURE: John 14:25-30 “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 be afraid.” (v27 NKJV)
OBSERVATION: Jesus is breaking the news to his dicsiples that He won’t be around for much longer. He assures them that in his physical absence, they will still be able have the peace that they felt in His presence. This was going to happen through the Holy Spirit, whom the Father was going to send In Jesus Name.
APPLICATION: Have you ever had a deep friendship with someone that ended in a dramatic way? Someone with whom you felt you had known for years, but in reality it had only been a short time? Those feelings are probably similiar to how the disciples were feeling at hearing this news. Having spent the past few years travellng with Jesus, their bond must have been deep. Now He is talking about replacing himself with and tells them to chill, relax, she’ll be right: Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (v27)
Jesus says to his disciples that He was leaving them with a kind of peace that they had never encountered before, a kind of peace that they would not experience from any other source. The Hebrew word used by Jesus is shalom, which is most commonly understood to only mean peace. Shalom means so much more that just peace. It is a Hebrew/Yiddish greeting that is returned, it is used to welcome someone (hello) and to farewell someone also (goodbye). It’s meanings also include: completeness, soundess, welfare, whole, safety, health, prosperity, friendship, tranquility and contentment.
Jesus’ pending departure may have seemed like a wrecking ball to the disciples confidence and hope for the future, but He gifted them with a declared peace that would change them forever. Jesus’ declaration was removing limtations to their understanding, opening up new opportunities they had never considered. Maybe its time to use the words of Jesus as a wrekcing ball to your limiting barriers, attitudes and mindsets. Maybe its time to use the word shalom as a wrecking ball to areas you aren’t experiencing peace in your life. Speak more than just peace into your situation, declare some completeness in areas of lack, soundness into unholy thoughts in your mind, welfare and health into your body, prosperity into your whole life, not just your finances, tranquility into the storms that are buffeting you, or contentment with your current season.
PRAYER: In Jesus Name, I declare SHALOM in my life. AMEN
