Peace of God

 "The Peace of God is more valuable than anything the world has to offer, and we must protect it as consistently as a tender infant."  --Hugh Prather, author

I love this photo of one of my sons holding his 7-day-old infant.  He is lovingly supporting her head as he shows her to us for the first time.  Because of the pandemic we'd not been allowed to visit her in the hospital.  

Hugh Prather points out, "If someone bumped into you on the street, you wouldn't just drop the baby to follow the person and yell at him....In the same way, we cannot afford to put the peace of God aside for any worldly distraction."  

In Alan Cohen's A Deep Breath of Life he tells us, "If you've traded joy for any passing entity or experience, you've struck a poor bargain indeed."  How often have I've lost my peace because my ego got put out in some way?!  In fact, whenever we lose our peace, you can be sure, always, that ego is involved in some way.  Jesus said, 

I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

All we need to do to be a beneficiary of God's peace, is to believe in Jesus and all that He did to restore us to the family.  Now I just need to remind myself that I need to protect God's peace in me just as I would one of my own children or grandchildren.  God's peace amongst the chaos in the world is a gift I cherish....just like I cherish my grandchildren.  The world cannot give me the kind of peace God gives, so I will no longer expect it from the world nor seek it.  This truly simplifies everything!

Father, my prayer is that everyone would come to You to find the peace we all so desperately need.  May I never choose anything over Your Peace.  May I protect it as I would a little child.

Link to scripture:  John 14:27

Take Action:  God's Peace