His Perfect Peace

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27 ESV

“Test results are in………….it is cancer” were the words out of our daughter’s mouth. 

My heart sank as my mind went into overdrive. I was trying to come up with anything I could do to change this diagnosis. All of the questions, “Are they sure?” “Could it have been a mistake?” “Can’t they do further testing?” “What can we do?” But in actuality, there was nothing neither I, my husband nor she could do to change the facts. Cancer was there, trying to destroy our beautiful daughter’s body with every passing moment. 

I lay in my bed that evening, with no more tears left to flow. I once again prayed to my Heavenly Father. Asking if it were His will that He would remove cancer from her body. This is when He gave me this verse in John.

“Peace I leave with you, Doris”. Yes, you can insert your name in there too for He has enough peace for all of us. His peace is not like anything we can receive from anywhere else. It is nothing we can understand, (Philippians 4:7). It’s just perfect peace. 

Satan is constantly trying to cause us fear and anxiety. When we focus on thing’s we have no control over, anxiety, fear, and depression take over. This is when we need to focus on the scripture.

“Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”.

I am aware that while our daughter is still fighting this horrible disease, God may not answer my prayer to heal her body. Does that mean I have little faith? No, I have total faith in His healing power. What this does mean, is I know His ways are not my ways (Isaiah 8:9). However, I do know that He will indeed answer my plea for our strength and peace to face each day. I know He will be with us every step of the way; I know this because I can feel His peace. She feels His peace and has been positive though it all. We know God has not left us; He is still very much here with us along this journey. 

Maybe you too are facing a difficult journey. Perhaps going through a divorce, abuse, financial distress, or maybe a child has gone astray. There are so many things can steal our joy. The only way to get through these trials is to trust in the Lord. Trust His plan and live with His peace.

I may not understand why she has to endure this trial; but I do trust His plan for her life and mine. Does that mean I do this every moment? I wish this were true, but I often forget. That’s when I remind myself of His presence and His promise to be with us and to never leave or forsake us. (Deuteronomy 31:8). Only then can I rest well in His perfect peace. 

Will you join me in trusting God’s word and His promise of peace? You can do this by placing your loved ones in His hands. We then can relax, knowing He is in control of all our anxiety-causing issues. You too can enjoy His peace today.