2 Kings 4-6 Luke 24:36-53

“While the two followers were telling this, Jesus himself stood right in the middle of them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’” (Luke 24:36 NCV)

I think the emotions of the disciples must have been all over the place in those days after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. They’d just experienced the devastating emotions of watching their close friend and teacher die in the cruelest way. They’d experienced loneliness and loss in between crucifixion. Then, with the stories coming out about Jesus rising from the dead, their emotions were wavering between joy, disbelief, sadness, exhilaration, and those kept swinging back and forth. They only had the words of the ladies who had gone to the tomb, so they wanted more reliable witnesses. Then the two guys from Emmaus came along and confusion reigned amongst the disciples. All this up to now has been my interpretation of what I thought the situation was like. Then Jesus came and shattered the confusion in just a few words: “Peace be with you.” It took a while for them to process that the man they’d seen crucified was standing before them, but Jesus, through His words and actions, brought peace.

While we don’t have the same truckload of emotional issues that the disciples must have had back then, we all have issues. There are deadlines to meet. There are jobs to do. Life happens, and we need to interrupt our goals to deal with the problems. We lose our jobs. A child is born. A loved one dies. We could go on forever talking about life events that keep us on the emotional roller coaster. In the midst of our conflicting emotions, Jesus comes to us today and says, “Peace be with you.” I know, we don’t want peace when things are going well. We want to shout our joy to the world, but when the troubles come, we need that peace to keep us going. That’s why I turn to Him in prayer. That’s why I seek to experience His presence. That’s why I read God’s word daily. It’s not that we don’t have troubles. I heard this so long ago, I forget who told me, but Jesus promised us that in this world, we would have troubles. He also promised us that He would be with us always. Seek Him in good times to share the joy and thank Him for the joy. Seek Him in the midst of your troubles to gain peace and thank Him for His presence.

Lord, when troubles overwhelm me, You come and bring peace. Help me to accept that gift of peace and recognize Your presence in my life always.

Scripture taken from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.