Let Me Live in PeaceSýnishorn

If Jesus wanted to encourage us, He would simply say, "I encourage you"; instead, in today's passage, we read that He says, "Be encouraged". Encouragement is our own decision, a responsibility that Jesus places on our shoulders. Jesus has already conquered the world. He has already done what we could not do. Taking courage is our job.

This is a great challenge, because Jesus leaves us the great responsibility of facing our adversities, not with a peace based on our strengths, our resources or a false hope; but in the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the power of his Word and the promise of His presence in us.

Many of us live in anguish or shrink from challenges because we seek earthly peace instead of divine peace. But if we recognize that in Jesus, we have peace and that He conquered the world, we know that we can be conquerors in any situation in the world, because we live in Jesus and He in us.

An earthly peace is based on a place of calm waters, in which you only hear the birds singing, where the complaining neighbors cannot go, where no crisis is spoken of. Imagine that it is a place where you are alone with God and with nature and can meditate constantly to find inner peace. The problem is that, when you leave that place, all your problems are still present, because that is an earthly peace. But the peace that Jesus gives us is eternal.

Whatever happens, we need to live with that attitude that says, “let me live in peace” because what we are facing cannot steal our peace if we do not give it permission.