Peace is a Possibility

John 16:33 (CSB)

“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

Today is the second Sunday of Advent, and the traditional theme of this week is ‘peace.’ Christmas is less than three weeks away, we’re nearing the end of another year, and if you are like most people around this time of year, you are hoping for peace but are probably feeling stressed. I want to encourage us all to look closely at these words of Jesus, so we can understand how we can have peace at all times—whether that’s during the busy Christmas season, or even during times of suffering.

John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

This verse might seem like a contradiction at first. Jesus is telling us we may have peace, but He’s also telling us we will have suffering. How can we have peace when we are suffering?

In MacLaren’s commentary on this verse, he points out, “Our Lord does not say, ‘Ye have peace,’ but ‘These things I have spoken that you may have it.’ It is a possibility.”

I like that wording: Peace is a possibility.

No matter what happens, peace is possible. How can that be possible, though? We all face trouble and times of stress. Can we really have peace at those times? Yes! That’s what Jesus is saying in this passage.

But before we can have peace though, we must have the first part of this Bible verse in place. First, we must understand what Jesus is talking about when He said, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace.” What are these things He said?

Earlier in this chapter of John, Jesus was explaining to His disciples that He was going to leave them. As we know in hindsight, He was speaking about His death on the cross. He told them in John 16:22, “So you also have sorrow now. But I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy from you.”

He also told them they would face suffering after He left, but that they would be given the Counselor—the Holy Spirit—to comfort them and teach them. And He added that they can pray directly to the Father in His name because, as verse 27 says, “For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”

Those words aren’t just for the disciples. If any of us has faith in Jesus, then the Father loves us, and we can pray directly to Him in Jesus’ name, too. If we have a relationship with Jesus, we have a relationship with God. So, when Jesus says, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace,” He’s saying that He’s explained Who He is, so that through our faith in Him, we may have peace.

In other words, it’s only if we are “in Christ” that we can have peace.

Ephesians 2:4-5 explains this by telling us that we used to be separated from God and dead because of our sin, but God, being rich in mercy and because He loves us, made us alive in Christ, saving us by grace. Verse 14 then sums up what Jesus did. It says, “For he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility.”

Jesus has become our peace.

How exactly did He do this? In the time before Jesus was born on earth, God’s people were waiting for the promised Messiah to arrive. Their hope was that a Savior would appear and rescue them from their troubles. They knew the prophecies. They had hope in what Genesis 3:15 foretold. It says, “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” They knew that Someone would show up who would crush the Devil’s head.

Jesus did exactly that when He died on the cross and rose again. He conquered the world by defeating death and the devil, bringing peace to all who believe in Him.

You might wonder, if Jesus has conquered the world, why is there still sin and suffering in the world?

Just as the people of God in the Old Testament were waiting for the Messiah to arrive, we are now waiting for Jesus, our Savior, to return. He has conquered the world, yet we are living in an in-between time. There is still suffering in the world because people have free will, and the devil is still alive. If we are in Christ, then by His power we have authority over the devil, and we have the power through Jesus to overcome sin, but the devil is still constantly causing trouble and sorrow on the earth.

In MacLaren’s commentary on this verse, he points out that when Jesus says, “[‘You will have suffering in this world’] our Lord is not speaking here about the troubles that befall men as men, nor about the chastisement that befalls them as sinners, nor about the evils which dog them because they are mortal or because they are bad, but of the yet more mysterious sorrows which fall upon them because they are good. ‘In the world ye have tribulation,’ is the proper rendering and reading…Whoever realizes the inward life in Christ will find himself coming into hostile collision with lives which only move on the surface and belong to the world. If you and I are Christians after the pattern of Jesus Christ, then…all that you regard as axiomatic the world regards as folly…And therefore there must come, sooner or later, and more or less intensely in all Christian lives, opposition and tribulation. No doubt the form of antagonism varies…Christians have dropped their standard far too much, and so the antagonism is not so plain as it ought to be, and as it used to be, and as, some day, it will be.”

MacLaren is saying that the more we follow Christ, the more trouble we will face in the world as the Devil and those in the world oppose us. As we face tribulations and suffering for Christ, though, we can be at peace, because we know that ultimately, when Jesus returns, the devil will be destroyed for good. Romans 16:20 promises that “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” And Revelation 12:9 tells us how that will happen. It says, “So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him.”

Until that day comes though, we can have peace, if we are in Christ. For we have the hope of Christ’s return, and we have His presence with us in the world as we wait. No matter what we face, we know that Jesus is with us, helping us and filling us with His ever-available peace.

But this is why, as I said before, that it is only if we are in Christ that we will have peace. In Christ, we have the possibility of peace at all times.

I don’t know about you, but I want to have peace at all times. That sounds wonderful. So, if I am in Christ, what is keeping me from experiencing peace at all times?

I think our peace gets interrupted because of a couple of factors: one, when we disobey God; and two, when we lose confidence in His ability to help us.

Let’s look at the first reason peace gets interrupted: We interrupt peace when we disobey God.

The Bible is very clear that if we want peace, we must obey God. Deuteronomy 28 describes how this works. It says that if God’s people wanted peace and security in their land, they must obey Him. And it details all the trouble that will come to His people if they don’t follow His commands.

The Psalms also link peace with obedience to God’s law. Psalm 119:165 says, “Abundant peace belongs to those who love your instruction; nothing makes them stumble.” Peace is an expected outcome of loving and following God’s Word.And Isaiah 32:17 explains that peace comes from righteousness. It says, “The result of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever.”

What is righteousness? It is obedience to God’s will. If we live righteously, the result is peace and “quiet confidence.” It’s not that peace is a reward for obedience, but rather peace is a result of obedience, for when we disobey God, we leave the place of peace.

In Jeremiah 7:23, God gives the people this command: “Obey me, and then I will be your God, and you will be my people. Follow every way I command you so that it may go well with you.” But they didn’t obey, and it didn’t go well for them. The people repeatedly disobeyed God, and they lost the peace they could have had.

This inability of God’s people to remain at peace is why Jesus was sent to earth. He was born to give us peace that would last. He became our peace. That’s why, in John 14:27, before Jesus went to the cross, He tells His disciples, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.”

This peace He was giving them is available to all of us who follow Jesus. Paul explains this in his letters. In Philippians 4:9 he perfectly sums it up by saying, “Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.” He’s saying, ‘If you do what you know you’re supposed to do, then because God is with you, you can have peace.’

I think it’s significant that Paul doesn’t say, ‘Do what I told you to do, and everything will be peaceful.’ No, he says, “and the God of peace will be with you.” Paul, more than any of us, knew that following God doesn’t necessarily lead to peaceful, calm, conflict-free times. Paul was often attacked, thrown in prison, threatened with death—it was far from peaceful. Yet, he had peace. Why? Because he knew the God of peace was with him.

What can get confusing, though, is sometimes we feel a false sense of peace when we choose our own way. That false peace can make it harder to discern God’s will. We might even experience a temporary sort of peace doing what we want, avoiding the conflicts and challenges that come from following Jesus—but that sort of peace is not real. It won’t last. This is something I’ve learned the hard way.

After I became a new believer, I went on a mission trip to Russia with a team of about 10 people. We were all supposed to take turns speaking and giving our testimonies at the evangelistic meetings we held. My turn had arrived, and I was extremely nervous. I was sweating, my knees were knocking, and I was filled with doubt and dread, worried that I would do a terrible job. Overcome with fear, I told our team leader that I couldn’t do it. He told someone else to take my place. Immediately after I was excused, I felt peace. I wasn’t worried anymore. I wasn’t sweating or afraid. But then God spoke to me and said, “That peace is not from Me. The devil has simply stopped attacking your mind.” Once I realized that, I felt horrible. I realized that I had missed an opportunity to share my testimony. I had missed out on what God had wanted me to do. I talked to my team leader about it, and he basically said, “The devil won that round.”

It was not easy to hear that. I felt even more horrible having my failure confirmed to me. We left the meeting, and I was so grieved. I had let down our team, and I had missed out on what God could have done in me and through me. We boarded a public bus to go back to our hotel, and I sat down feeling miserable. There was an older lady sitting across from me. In her hands was a bouquet of flowers. She made eye contact with me and gestured that she wanted to give me a flower. At first, I thought she wanted me to buy one, but she didn’t. She just wanted me to have one. As I took it from her, I felt the Lord speak to me again. This time He said, “The flower is from Me. I love you.” I started to cry. And then I was filled with peace. But this time, the peace wasn’t temporary. The lady smiled at me, and I smiled back through my happy tears.

The peace I felt after backing out of my testimony wasn’t God’s peace—it was simply the absence of pressure. Real peace came after repentance, when God restored me.

I share that story because this is how the Lord is with each of us. We see this throughout Scripture. If God’s people will repent of their disobedience, He welcomes them back. In that same chapter of Jeremiah, God begins by telling the disobedient people of Judah, “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Correct your ways and your actions, and I will allow you to live in this place” (Jeremiah 7:3).

If they had simply repented, they could have stayed living in a land of peace. He was willing to forgive them again.

God’s abundant mercy and grace is also seen in the New Testament as well. John 21 tells the story of how Jesus restored Peter after he had denied knowing Jesus three times. Jesus knew that Peter was repentant, and so Jesus didn’t reject him or disqualify him. He questioned him three times and then told him, “Follow me.”

Scripture shows us that whenever anyone repents, Jesus welcomes them back with open arms. Just as He said, “Correct your ways and your actions, and I will allow you to live in this place.”

His forgiveness allows us to live in a place of peace.

So, we can have peace if we have been forgiven, and if we don’t interrupt it by disobeying again.

Which leads me to the second reason peace gets interrupted: We lose peace when we lose confidence in God’s ability to help us.

Back to our verse for today, Jesus said, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

We have the possibility of peace if we take courage.

If you think of courage, you might think of being bold or daring, but the Greek word for courageous is tharseó, and it means, “Take courage, be of good cheer, be confident.”

Remember what Isaiah 32:17 says: “The result of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever.” I think that’s a pretty accurate description of the kind of courage Jesus is talking about—quiet confidence.

Jesus is saying, ‘Even though you will have suffering, don’t lose confidence in Me.’ He’s telling us: ‘Be confident in My ability to help you.’

If we are confident in God’s ability to help us, then we will step out in faith. We will be courageous.

But fear, brought on by a lack of confidence in God’s ability to help us, causes us to lose our peace and lose our courage.

Usually, whenever we are afraid, we are filled with doubt and lack confidence. When we’re not confident, we are not at peace, and we don’t act with courage. These two things—peace and courage—work together. They build on each other. Jesus’ peace gives us courage—and when we choose courage, we experience His peace more fully.

If we follow Jesus’ advice and “Be courageous,” we will experience peace even in the midst of our fear. Because what is courage? It’s not the absence of fear. Courage is seen when we do something even though we are afraid. If there were no element of fear or worry, then courage wouldn’t be needed.

Before my turn to give my testimony, I was not courageous because I doubted God’s ability to help me. I lacked confidence. I needed to be courageous and trust in God.

Jesus tells us, “You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” He’s saying, ‘You will face troubles and things that will cause you to fear. Don’t give in to the fear. Be confident in Me, be courageous.’ And we should be courageous, because why should we fear? After all, Jesus has conquered the world!

As we near Christmas Day and the end of this year, now is the perfect time to reflect and ask yourself some questions:

Do I need to repent of something that has caused me to leave the place of peace?

Do I need to let go of fear and doubt and ask Jesus to help me walk in quiet confidence?

The message of Advent is this: Because of the gift of Jesus, we can experience peace at all times, even during times of trouble.

It is just as Philippians 4:6-7 says: “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

If we have quiet confidence in Jesus’ ability to help us, then we don’t need to worry about anything. We can rest in His peace, knowing that He can help us face all things. We can trust Him and not give in to fear. We can be courageous and do the things He has called us to do. That’s why, even when the world attacks us, we can be at peace and be courageous. With quiet confidence, we can continue to follow Jesus, no matter where He leads us, trusting in His ability to help us face all things.  

We can live in peace at all times because Jesus has conquered the world. Peace is a possibility, not because we are strong, but because Jesus has overcome. So instead of sin, let us choose obedience. Instead of fear, let us choose courage. Instead of worry, let us choose trust. And as we walk in His courage, we will experience His peace.

Pray: Heavenly Father, we thank You that You sent Jesus to become our peace. Thank You that peace is a possibility no matter what we face. Please help us to realize that peace and draw nearer to You each day. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.