A different peace

The world does give peace, of a kind — and it is worth having. A paid bill is peace. A good scan result is peace. A quiet house at the end of a long day is peace. But every one of them is conditional, and the conditions are always one phone call from changing.

Jesus says His peace is given “not as the world giveth.” It is not rented from circumstances. He said these words on the night He was betrayed — hours from the cross, with every earthly condition for peace collapsing — and He spoke of His peace as something He owned and could hand over. That is a different substance entirely.

So the command that follows is not unreasonable: let not your heart be troubled. Not because nothing is wrong, but because the peace He gives does not check the news first. It is yours by gift, this morning, in whatever is unresolved.