The peace of the Lord

* Luís Alberto Alves

In the gospel of John, chapter 14, verse 27, Jesus says, "I give unto you my peace, not as the world giveth you." But what peace is the Lord referring to? Is it the one that people get, for a few minutes, in drinks, drugs, the easy sex of the streets?

Jesus used many parables when he preached. Perhaps to facilitate understanding. As a priest, prophet and king, our God knew the human being. When we are in the ways of evil, we try to cool our heads in the dishes that the devil offers. One of them is the drink. How many have heard the famous phrase: "I'm going to have a beer to calm down, forget about this tragedy"?

Others turn to drugs, thinking that a career in cocaine or marijuana cigarettes or even any other type of narcotic will serve as a safe haven for a moment of pain. Unfortunately the world reacts in this way when it comes across something that stirs its emotional structures. Of course, they do not have intimacy with God.

God has several names, one of them is Jeovah Shalom (God of Peace). It is when the Lord pours upon us the meekness, the peace that no one in this world is able to provide, especially in a moment of extreme pain, in which the world seems to have opened under our feet and we fear the next day or even the night.

The basic rule for resting in the arms of Jehovah Shalom is to trust the Lord, to meditate on His Word, to seek Him intensely, to fast, to turn away from the evil ways and unpleasant things to Jesus Christ. We feel disgusted with the dirt that exists in this world, sold as something good, in the case of drinking, for example. It is to keep away from the customs of this rotten society, where right is wrong and wrong is right.

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor