"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." (John 14:27)
When someone you love has passed away, or you have gone through a divorce. A relationship with a friend has gone sour, and you cannot repair the damage. Your child has grown up, and gone to college, or got married and moved away. The question comes: How do you say goodbye? In other words, how do you move on with your life?
The title of this post-article I borrowed from Michael W. Smith's song: "How To Say Goodbye." When you get time, be sure to read the lyrics. They really hit home with how one feels when it comes time to say goodbye. (*)
Jesus tells us that the peace He gives us, is not like that of the world. Why is that? Because the peace that Jesus gives is planted in the ground of eternal hope. This peace that Jesus gives (that surpasses all understanding -Philippians 4:7) will guard our hearts and minds.
When we give our broken hearts to Jesus, He mends them with both the faithful promises of His Word, and His presence with us, to assure us that we are not alone in our heartbreak.
We will have to say goodbye at various times in our lives; but if we have placed our lives with Jesus, we will never have to say goodbye to Him. The disciples were troubled in their hearts because Jesus was going away, back to His Father in heaven. And what He told them, He tells us: "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
In this moment of saying goodbye, in essence Jesus is saying.
"I have this, I have you, and in Me, you can have peace."
Yes, sorrow for a time, because of love. But never discouragement and despair; because our hope is totally in our Lord Jesus Christ! GP
(*) https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/michaelwsmith/howtosaygoodbye.html
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