Published 3/23/20
Read John 14:27
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."
Reflect
What kind of peace does Jesus give us? This verse says it's not the kind the world gives. How is Christ's peace different?
Jamie and her husband love having their three adult sons home for Easter. "Two of our boys live in the same state as we do, but our middle son lives on the East Coast," she says. "Spring break has always been a special family time--especially Easter."
When her middle son, Lee, was in college and on the East Coast, Jamie realized she and her husband didn't have the money to fly him home for Easter. "Even though I had spent the morning searching online for an airline ticket, the prices were extremely high, and my heart sank when I realized it was out of our control."
After praying about the matter, Jamie was suddenly overwhelmed with a deep peace. "I knew immediately it was the Lord," she says. "He seemed to say, 'Trust Me. Just trust Me.' "
Jamie continued her workday with a lightened heart and increased God confidence. "I actually stopped thinking and worrying about it," she says.
When she got home after work, she noticed the message light blinking on their answering machine. "I wept as I listened to the message from a dear friend," Jamie says.
"Hey, Jamie. It's Shelley. I'm flying from Chicago to Cincinnati today, and my Chicago flight is full. They asked for volunteers to take a later flight. For some reason, Lee popped into my mind. I don't know if you've already purchased an airline ticket for him to come home, but by waiting here a few more hours in Chicago and taking a later flight, I'm getting a voucher good for a round-trip ticket anywhere in the States. I'll send it to you to make sure Lee gets home for Easter. Love you!"
"I believed it, but I couldn't believe it," Jamie says. "Yes, I had God confidence that He was going to take care of the matter, but I had no idea it would come this quickly or be this easy. And I knew Shelley loved to travel. She could have easily used that voucher on a vacation for herself. But God was moving! He worked in my life to teach me not to worry and that He cares about bringing my boys home. And He also moved in Shelley's life to bring my son to her mind."
When Jamie and her husband picked up their son at the airport, he was running a fever and had a severe case of strep throat. "We went straight from the airport to the emergency room," she says. "He spent the entire Spring break in bed recuperating, but I had the privilege of caring for him as only a mom can.
"I shudder to think of the possibility of him being alone in a big dorm without medicine, running a fever, no access to a nurse, no car. God is certainly in the business of caring for His children."
Lee needed to be home that Easter--maybe just to get well--and God made sure it happened. God is in control. Of fevers. And even of airline tickets.
Pray
Lord. Help me to never stop trusting You. Help me to remember that You are in control. Amen.