Peace I give you

by Sarah Eiana

Peace ... apa sih artinya? Sering kali when we are in a quiet place, surrounded by nature .. we say "It's so peaceful here". Kita sering mengasosiasikan 'peace' or 'damai' dengan suasana tenang, where time seems to stand still. But, what does the Word of God say about being in peace?

                                                  

                                                    Peace I leave 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

Waktu hidup kita tenang, tanpa masalah, we say "My life is peaceful. Thank you, God". Yes, all of us mau hidup yg aman, damai dan tentram. Let's look at the verse above, shall we? 

"Peace I leave you, My peace I give you". 

Dulu, gw sering berpikir Tuhan mau gw punya hidup yg damai dan tentram, but now ... I know for sure that God is more interested in me having a peaceful HEART than a peaceful LIFE. Gw tau banyak dari kita yg kalo hidupnya aman2, damai2 and anteng2 aja, kita sering lupa ama Tuhan. We start to take Him for granted. We forget everything we have comes from Him and Him only. Tapiii ... di tengah2 our struggles, usually we remember God. We cry out to Him. We realize we need Him more than anything. I think that's exactly what God wants for and from us - a relationship with Him. The development of our character to be more and more like Him. It is, for Him, more important than us having a peaceful life. A peaceful heart, that's what He wants for us .. but what kind of peace?

"I do not give to you as the world gives". 

The world promises success, fame, pleasure and wealth. Untuk banyak orang dunia, kesuksesan diukur dari how much we have or own. What about other religions? A lot of religions promises peace ... tapi kedamaian yg datang dari "if you do this ...", "if you don't do that ..." then MAYBE you'll be good enough to go to heaven.

But what Jesus promises is ... a peaceful heart. A heart that is cleansed by the Blood shed on the cross. He gives us reconciliation to Himself. He takes away our sin, and promises an eternal life. What kind of peace can surpass that?? Not by our work, not by our own goodness, but by His grace and mercy. Isn't that beautiful? Kedamaian macam apa yg bisa kita dapat kalo setiap hari kita hanya bisa berharap "kalo gw kasih banyak ke orang yg perlu, maka pahala gw akan bertambah", but we will never know when our good deeds will be enough. With Jesus, it is finished (John 19 : 30). His sacrifice on the cross is finished. It is done. Khalas! It is ENOUGH! We can spend the rest of our life with a joyful and peaceful heart knowing that nothing we do or don't do will take away His love from us. His sacrifice on the cross covers ALL of our mistakes, sins and shortcomings. The peace He gives us is not the kind of peace that the world or false religions give that is here today and gone tomorrow. His peace is the kind that meets the longing of our souls, and silences the scream of death because with Him there is only life. :) 

Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid

Tuhan udah kasih kita damai sejahtera. Damai yg gak bisa digantikan dengan apapun karena didalam Dia ada kepastian keselamatan. Karena itu, Dia gak mau kita menjadi takut. Dia gak mau kita pusing2 mikirin apa yang kita perlukan atau inginkan. He knows we still live on earth right now, and there are things we need or want (we need a healthy body, enough money in the bank to buy food, pay our house, dll dll), but His will is that we TRUST Him. Mungkin kita pikir "Gw butuh ini. Tuhan pasti kasih", tapi seringkali apa yg kita butuh dan apa yg Tuhan tau kita butuhkan adalah hal yang berbeda. Tubuh yang sehat ... siapa yg gak butuh? Tapi toh buktinya masih ada juga anak2 Tuhan yg sakit2an bertahun2. Makanan ... siapa yg gak butuh? Tapi kita tau ada juga anak2 Tuhan yg struggle. Apa itu artinya Tuhan gak menyediakan? Oh ya, Ia menyediakan, tapi dalam cara dan waktuNya  dan seringkali apa yg kita pikir kita butuh ternyata gak sesuai dengan apa yg ada di pikiran Tuhan. Kita pikir kalo kita punya makanan, tubuh yg sehat, rumah utk bernaung, maka hati kita akan damai. Tapi bukan itu yg Tuhan janjikan! Bottom line is: the peace that He gives us is NOT the absence of problems or needs (that's the kind of peace the world promises but never fulfills). The peace He promises is the PRESENCE of His Spirit, the PRESENCE of Himself in us who interactively & authoritatively reigns in our life. Kedamaian yang Ia berikan kepada kita bukanlah tidak adanya masalah atau kebutuhan (yang sebetulnya adalah jenis damai yang dijanjikan dunia tetapi tidak pernah dipenuhi). Damai yang Tuhan janjikan adalah KEHADIRAN Roh-Nya, KEHADIRAN dari diri-Nya dalam diri kita yang interaktif & otoritatif memerintah dalam hidup kita.

Lades, jika kita memiliki Tuhan yang tinggal, hidup dan memerintah dalam hidup kita, apa lagi yang kita butuhkan? Pikiran kita fokus kepada-Nya di tengah-tengah kekacauan, itulah damai yang nyata yang Ia rancang bagi kita ... itu adalah damai yang melampaui segala akal! (Filipi 4: 7) Marilah kita tidak membunuh sukacita kita dan mencuri damai sejahtera kita dengan khawatir. Mari kita tetap fokus  kepada-Nya dan menyatakan "ENGKAU CUKUP! ENGKAU LEBIH DARI CUKUP UNTUKKU!". Karena saat kita mulai khawatir tentang ini dan itu, itu sama saja kita menyatakan "Engkau tidak cukup bagiku, Tuhan. Aku butuh ini dan itu untuk memiliki kedamaian dalam hatiku". Saat kita khawatir, kita kehilangan fokus. Kita memindahkan pandangan kita dari-Nya, dan mulai fokus pada diri kita sendiri. :( Dia cukup! Di tengah semua kekacauan dan masalah kita, Dia adalah LEBIH DARI CUKUP. Janganlah kita mendengarkan kebohongan iblis. Mari kita PERCAYA kepadaNya, berdiri kokoh dalam damai Kristus yang benar, substansial dan kokoh. Damai yang melampaui segala akal! 

The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, 

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

Philippians 4 : 7

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Tentang penulis

Sarah Eliana

Daughter of the King of kings. A happy wife & a proud mommy. Her passion is in missions, literature ministry, and education. Loves to travel, eat Asian food, read, write, and swim. 
(picture drawn by Jules)