John 14:27-28 NKJV – 27 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 let it be afraid. 28 You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.
Jesus reminded the disciples that He will be going to the Father. Imagine what that must have been for the disciples knowing that Jesus will not always be with them on earth. They had developed a deep personal and intimate relationship with Jesus only to be told that He would be leaving soon. It’s never easy to hear that someone you love is leaving.
Jesus was going to be with the Father, but Jesus did not abandon His followers. Jesus also gave the promise of sending the Holy Spirit as our helper in John 14:26 – “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” That is comforting to know that the Holy Spirit is our helper. But still when someone you love dearly leaves, even if for the right reasons, we sometimes can feel abandoned.
We also have the promise of Jesus’ return. A promise of hope that also offers peace. The book of Revelation is a book of hope. I do not look at it as a book of doom and gloom. We should always be ready and excited for Jesus’ return.
Peace is a gift from God, Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Since peace is a gift then we are to be good stewards with the gift. We are to maintain that gift.
When I was 18 years old my dad bought me my first car, a 1977 Pontiac Grand Prix. The car was in great shape for being an older car, it still had the original factory installed 8-track player too ha-ha. But since I was young, I did not maintain the car like I should have. A car requires proper maintenance to run good and to last. My dad provided the gift, but it was still my responsibility to maintain that gift. Unfortunately, because I was young and did not have any knowledge about cars, eventually the car would not run anymore and had to be traded in. I loved that car, but obviously did not love it enough to make it last. When you value a gift, you will do what it takes to maintain and protect it.
In verse 27 Jesus said “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you”. We will never find long lasting abundant peace in worldly things. True peace is only from God. But what happens when our heart is troubled, or when we are afraid? Do we accept the peace of God, or do we try to find other things to give us peace?
When people feel anxious, they will try to find peace in entertainment, drugs, alcohol, sex, and relationships. We try to find distractions to help us take our minds off of distractions. But finding peace in worldly things is only temporary peace, not lasting peace. Sure, in that moment we might experience some peace but then the next day we usually do not feel at peace. Sometimes the next day we experience added emotions of guilt, shame, depression, and anxiety. That’s not peace at all.
In September I will be celebrating 29 years of sobriety. I started drinking when I was in high school. I was not under any peer pressure because I have never given into peer pressure, but I was curious about alcohol. I was a shy and introverted kid growing up, but with alcohol I was not shy, and I would turn into an extrovert. When I was at a party people thought I was funny, I would make them laugh so I thought I needed alcohol for people to like me and to enjoy being around me. I thought I was the life of the party and that I was living a good life. Alcohol had become my best friend, something I could always turn to when I needed peace and comfort. Later on, into my early 20’s, I was in a dark place in my life, I was dealing with a lot of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. I was also dealing with loneliness, abandonment, and rejection. I felt empty inside and thought alcohol would fix my problems, but it never made the problems go away, it would just make me forget about the problems temporarily. The bottle had started out as my best friend but eventually it had turned into my worse enemy. Alcohol did not fix my problems; it just made my problems worse.
When Kim and I were dating she had invited me to church, actually she had invited me to church a lot of times. I never wanted anything to do with church or with God. But I had finally caved in one Sunday and decided to go to church with her. Kim grew up in church, I did not. I grew up with pagan beliefs and I wanted nothing to do with religion, especially Christianity. Kim never tried to force me to go to church or try to guilt me into it. But one day I accepted the invitation to go to church and on that day, I also accepted Jesus into my heart and finally the emptiness I felt inside was filled with the love of God.
The next night we went to our favorite restaurant. I ordered a beer with my meal just like I always did. Kim said to me that I should not drink since I am a Christian now. But I told her that “I will quit drinking when God tells me to quit!”. I grabbed the bottle of beer and started to drink it but from the first sip ended up tasting like the worst thing I have ever tasted. I had always loved the taste of alcohol; it didn’t matter if it was beer or hard liquor I enjoyed the taste. But that night I tasted the most foul-tasting thing ever, I almost spit it out, it was that bad, but we were in a restaurant, so I swallowed the drink. The beer was not stale or expired. Suddenly I felt something leave my body and the desire for alcohol was gone in an instant! My addiction to alcohol was gone! Now for the past 29 years I have not had one drop of alcohol. My desire to get drunk was gone and remains gone.
For me it took the power of God to deliver me from an addiction that was slowly killing me. I discovered that true peace only comes from God. In exchange for giving up alcohol God gave me something far greater, He filled me with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gave me something that alcohol never could, He gave me a life! Alcohol was only leading me to death, and I believe that if I did not stop drinking when I did then I would not be alive today to write about my testimony.
If you are struggling with any type of addiction do know that God can deliver you from it. Alcohol may seem fun for a season, but I have seen alcohol destroy lives, families, relationships, jobs, and military careers. It always starts out with just a casual drink, wanting to be “sociable” or wanting to “unwind”. But eventually one drink will lead to another, and another, and another. I used to think that I had alcohol under control until I learned that alcohol had control of me.
As a parent I needed to break off the generational curse of alcoholism that ran in my family. What type of an example would I have given to my kids if they had seen me drunk or drinking? When I was a youth pastor what kind of an example would I have been to youth who struggled with addictions if they saw me drunk or drinking? When I did prison ministry what type of an example would I be to inmates who a lot of them ended up in prison because of their addictions? Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 6:3 “We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.” We have the choice of either setting the example or being made an example of. Which do you choose?
Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He should be our go to when we need peace, not the things of the world. I pray that the yoke of addiction will be broken off in the name of Jesus.
Romans 15:13 NIV 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
