"Pre-owned Peace Of Mind"

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"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27. As my wife, our little girl, and I were driving down the road yesterday, we saw this eighteen wheeler truck turn in front of us with a great big sign painted all over the side of it which read, "Pre-owned Peace Of Mind". We went on to read the rest of the sign which turned out to be an advertisement for a well known car lot in town. I told my wife that when I first saw that sign, I thought they were talking about Jesus. I really did think that when I first saw those words on the side of that truck. Had I known however the origin of the advertisement, I would have known that they were not talking about the Lord, because the peace of mind the sign spoke of was offered by the world. In the wonderful verse of scripture used in the beginning of this little article, we find the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples concerning His leaving them. This was but one of the promises the Lord had made to His disciples, but it was truly one that would prove very needful after the Lord made His departure from this world.

This promise to the disciples was and is not limited to those disciples of that day, but are also such a precious promise to each and every one of us who have trusted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, as is all those other promises He made that day. "Peace I leave with you,". The Lord Himself was to leave this present world and go to be with the Father. That thought indeed would be enough to merit the need of some peace of mind. That truck yesterday boasted of peace of mind, but what was the origin of the peace they offered? It was a car or truck and a used one at that. The peace the Lord promised was not to be found in a car or truck, neither new or used as He made it clear as to the origin of the peace He would leave when He said, "My peace I give unto you:". Now, that statement in itself qualified it to be "Pre-owned Peace", but it most definitely was and is not used as was those cars and trucks advertised on the side of that truck. No, the peace of the Lord, though it is His peace, which makes it pre-owned, is new every time there is a need.

You will notice that I said, that His peace is new every time there is a need. Of course there is a constant and ever present peace of knowing that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour and that He loves us so much that He was willing to lay down His precious life for ours. But there are times in our lives and quite often it seems when we need His peace more than others. It is in those special times when the next part of that verse proves to be most comforting as He said, "not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

The night before last, which was Friday night, proved to be one such time and though I had not seen the sign on the side of that truck at that time, the Lord most graciously brought it to my remembrance after reading and thinking about that sign. Friday night, about the time we all went to bed, there came one of the worst electrical storms I have seen in a very long time. The lightning was flashing so close that you could see it in the house with all the curtains and blinds closed. And the thunder was rumbling and cracking with such intensity that it seemed to shake the house, and all with such frequency that one would hardly be over before the other started. This is not to mention the hail and the extreme hard downpour of rain and the wind.

We have a monitor in our room where we can hear everything that goes on in our little girl's room and our little girl was heard to calmly say, "Mommy". My wife got up to go in and check on her and she told my wife that she couldn't go to sleep because of all the noise the thunder was making. My wife asked her if she knew who was in charge of all that lightning and thunder and she said, "God is and I'm not afraid, but the noise is keeping me awake."

Jesus said, "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." We all went soundly asleep in the midst of that storm and slept probably some of the best sleep we have had in a long time. The sign on the side of that truck boasted, "Pre-owned Peace of Mind", but friend, those folk could have given me every car and truck they had on their lot, new or used, and none of it would have or could have given peace Friday night during that storm. The peace the world offered through that car lot and those cars could not even give peace of mind, but God's peace goes beyond the mind and is a peace of the mind and the heart and the soul and the very being.

His peace cannot be explained or understood, but can only be experienced. In the Book of Philippians we read, "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7. Now friends, I don't understand the peace which the Lord gives and I don't understand the many storms of this life, but I do know that He is in charge of it all and that His promises are true and faithful. And I do know that He truly never fails. Any time I find myself not understanding His precious promises or the circumstances I find myself in, I find great comfort in His Word which tells me, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." Proverbs 3:5. If we can truly get hold of this wonderful verse of scripture, we will indeed find that not only His promise of peace which passeth all understanding will be true, but so will all His promises.

Another of those promises is found in the very next verse where we read, "In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:6. All this that I have written about is absolutely no reflection on me. I am not special in any way. Every one of those promises that I have mentioned and the ones that I have not mentioned are made to every one who has trusted Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour and Lord and the glory for every bit of it belongs to the Lord.

Now, I did not say that all who have trusted Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour have and do cash in on all those promises. I merely said that they are theirs, just as much as they are mine. This too is no reflection on me, as I can only receive that which I find made readily available to me. The secret to this, which is no secret, is found in Him.

So far in this little article, I have written about Jesus and God and the Lord, but the secret, which is no secret is found in all of Him. Those who have truly trusted Jesus Christ all know that God is three persons in one and it is all of Him that make good on His promises. Today being Father's day, we should all acknowledge Him and realize that He is our Father and the only one who knows exactly what we need when we need it and beyond all that, He owns it all and gives it to us at His pleasure.

My little girl and my wife presented me with a blue ribbon that says, "World's Greatest Dad". When they handed it to me, the first thing that entered my mind was the only true, "World's Greatest Father", and I told them that I try to be as much like Him as I can.

His Word tells us, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom." Luke 12:32. This my friend, is God the Father and if it is His good pleasure to give me the Kingdom, how in the world could I not trust Him for right now?

We have already heard from God the Son, who promised, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you, Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27. But right before that verse, we find the source of having these precious promises made readily available to us just when we need them. He is God the Holy Spirit and it is said of Him, "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." John 14:26. Ain't that some more kind of special promise? There is absolutely no way that I could ever in my lifetime memorize this wonderful Book and all it's promises, but just when I need them the most, there He is, the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom God the Father has sent in the name of Jesus, to bring to remembrance what He has said. On this Father's Day and every day, let us who are His children, acknowledge Him, all of Him and praise Him for all that He is to us. God bless you.