The Only Real Peace
Have you ever lost something? A key? An earring? Your hand bag? You search high and low for it but to no avail? You began to get frustrated, annoyed, angry because you really need this item that you’re looking for. Finally full of despair, after wrecking your house, you give up.
Afterwards you sit in despair looking at the shambles that you made and there in the most obvious place is that item you’re looking for. Sometimes you’re unable to even appreciate finding this lost item because you’re too busy looking at the mess that you made looking for it. The sad fact is that the item was not really lost it was there all along. You simply didn’t look in the right place to begin with.
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” John 4:13-15
Unfortunately, this is the way it is with life sometimes. The woman at the well was the perfect example. She wanted so much to find happiness, to find love and acceptance. She tried to find it in the arms of men, marrying and leaving them when they didn’t live up to her expectations or maybe they left her. Finally she gave up on marriage after five times but she still felt empty inside. All of her searching had gotten her nowhere. She was ostracized, hated looked down upon because she was searching for something to fill the empty spaces in her life.
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.” John 4:13,15,25-26 (NIV)
Sad isn’t it, how sometimes in our search for happiness we end up being wounded. Sometimes our wounds are so deep that we are searching for may be right in front of us and we may not recognize it because we are searching in the wrong places. We look to family and friends and they let us down. We try to find happiness by accumulating stuff and they are destroyed, we may try other things, concentrating on our jobs, losing ourselves in different projects…but none of these things will ever be enough. The only real peace and fulfillment we will ever find in this life is in Jesus Christ.
28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him. John 4:28-30.
The awesome thing I’ve found about Jesus is that when we take a moment to truly listen to Him we are totally changed. Whatever it is that is going on in our lives when we turn it over to Him our entire outlook and demeanor is changed and in turn others are touched by what He’s doing in our lives.
The only real peace that I have, dear Lord, is in You.
The only real peace that I have, dear Lord, is in You.
With all life’s temptations, I need You, and I know I do.
‘Cause the only real peace that I have, dear Lord, is in You.
Lord help us not to be so busy searching that we do not realize that what we are searching for we have already found in you.
God bless,
Bernadine
Amen, so very, very true my friend. I love you.
Amen to that, Bernadine. Yes, we often get involved, ‘bury’ ourselves in things to find happiness. But there is only One that truly can give us for what we need…
Thank you so much for sharing your heart with us this morning…
For some reason when reading todays post I was reminded of our young girls/teens that are looking for love in all the wrong places. Help us to have a tender heart to share God’s REAL love with them and all those around us that we see hurting. – Thanks for sharing today, Laurie
Oh Bernadine,
How, Oh, how I wish my extended family members would read this a hear the truth. I too, can get side tracked but I know the truth that it is Jesus and only He who can fill us. Great post. Hugs.
So true, Bernadine, so very true. When we seek Him we will find peace…even in the midst of storms.