“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).
In his 1841 essay “Self-Reliance,” famous author Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote that “nothing can bring you peace but yourself.” As the title of his essay suggests, Emerson advocated for readers to rely on themselves, and themselves alone, for peace and security in life.
That mentality persists in our culture to this very day, doesn’t it? It’s similar to the whole “you do you” mentality of doing what feels right for you, no matter what anyone else thinks (so long as you’re not harming yourself or others). Be true to yourself . . . follow your heart . . . etc. . . .
The problem, of course, is that the peace we bring to ourselves cannot last. It’s a peace that fades with the passage of time. It’s a peace that shatters with the presence of difficulty and hardships. It’s a peace that fills us with fear when it vanishes without warning.
If we’re looking to find peace in ourselves, we’re looking in the wrong place. If we’re looking to find peace in institutions, principles, ideologies, or philosophies, again, we’re looking in the wrong place.
The only place we can find peace in an uncertain world, in the midst of all the uncertainties of life, is in the peace left for us, and freely given, by our Savior Jesus.
The peace Jesus gives isn’t like any other peace in this world. It’s his peace—a peace that transcends all understanding and yet is present right here and now in your life because of Jesus. Even the way Jesus gives us his peace is different from the way the world gives people peace.
The pattern of the sinful world would have us believe that peace is earned before it is given. We have to put in the hard work ourselves to come to a place where we can discover inner peace with ourselves and the world around us.
Jesus gives us his peace freely—without us earning it, or even deserving it. His peace is a gift that is meant to guard our hearts and minds through Spirit-worked faith in Jesus and what he has done for us: taken away all our sins and set us free from slavery to sin and death, and opened the way to eternal life in heaven.
Jesus gives us his peace because he doesn’t want our hearts to be troubled; he doesn’t want us to be afraid of what happens to us and our loved ones in the chaos and turmoil of this sin-darkened world. And there’s a lot that happens in life that threatens to rob us of peace. There’s a lot that threatens to take our eyes off our Savior and focus on the storms of life instead.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was wrong, dear Christian. The answer to finding peace in an uncertain world is not “nothing can bring you peace but yourself.” Rather, it’s “nothing can bring you peace but Jesus.” It reminds me of a saying that my grandpa shared with me:
No Jesus? No peace. Know Jesus? Know peace.
Our Savior is not hard to find—he’s always present in his Word and sacraments, in which he reminds us of the peace that only he can give and the incredible love that our heavenly Father has for us because of him.
Dive into Jesus’ comforting words and promises with These Words Are Written. These brief devotions cover the entire book of John and point you to the peace that is yours in your Savior Jesus.
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Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
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