Our God is the giver of peace. The words “Grace and Peace” go together, because if it had not been for grace, we would never know peace. We certainly do not deserve it. It is also true that the peace we can enjoy depends on our trusting the Lord.

There are many things that are upsetting to life that we cannot help. On the same evening that Jesus gave “peace not as the world gives,” he also agonized in Gethsemane, and the very ones who received that gift of peace were caught in the worst nightmare of their life.

Someone has said that peace is not the absence of troubles, but the presence of Christ. The thunder crashes, the winds forcefully blow, and the torrential rain falls unceasingly; yet the little sparrows rest peacefully in the cleft of the rock. Are we able to rest in the Rock of Ages that is cleft for us?

The Cypress tree stands in cemeteries because it is believed that the whisper of God is heard when the breeze gently blows through it. We all need a whispering tree where anxious care dissipates, and murmuring has a silent tongue.

Peace whispers a name like no other: Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. It is our resting in the hollow of God’s strong hand. It is a voice that speaks gently to us; a voice that has no trembling tone, but is gentle, confident and assuring.

“Sometime when misgivings darken the day, and faith’s light I cannot see; I ask my dear Lord to brighten the way. He whispers sweet peace to me. He whispers sweet peace to me. He whispers sweet peace to me. When I am cast down in spirit and soul, He whispers sweet peace to me.”