The war involving the United States, Israel, and Iran has been going on for over seventy days without us quite realizing it. Since this war began, the global situation and economic conditions have fallen into complete turmoil. We all hope the world can settle into peace, but things have not gone as we wished—the world has only grown more chaotic. With the help of artificial intelligence, the chaos of the world has only increased, and arrived faster. Not long ago, we believed that keeping money in the bank was safe and secure. Today, scammers and hackers use AI to craft convincing fraudulent schemes, easily stealing the hard-earned savings of victims from their bank accounts. Recently, our government has also solemnly warned all parties to strengthen cybersecurity, lest criminal organizations use AI to infiltrate critical computer systems, causing enormous economic losses and security threats. This world cannot give us peace. “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains” (Matthew 24:7-8). This prophecy of the Lord Jesus is being fulfilled right before our eyes.
There are countless other things in this world that rob us of our peace, and some of them are aimed directly at our faith. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33a). The Lord Jesus warned His disciples in advance—and warns us as well—that suffering for one’s faith is a path every believer must walk. So Christians not only face the same disaster-filled world as those who do not believe in Jesus, but we have an additional kind of suffering—persecution because of our faith. It seems like being a Christian offers no advantage, and instead brings more trouble!
Brothers and sisters, we live in this sinful world that is opposed to the true God, and therefore experiencing suffering is an inevitable reality. But what sets us apart from others is that we have the Lord Jesus. Our Saviour walks through all of this with us, and He helps us experience peace in the midst of all this suffering. The Lord Jesus assures us: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). He also promises: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
In other words, because our Saviour Jesus has already overcome this sinful world that is opposed to God, and because He is willing to give us rest, Christians can have peace in the midst of suffering. Suffering cannot truly harm us. We can have peace when facing economic hardship and a survival crisis. We can have peace when experiencing illness ourselves or watching loved ones suffer. We can have peace when our faith puts us in danger. We can have peace when we worry about the future of our children or parents, and we can still have peace even when standing at the threshold of death at the end of life. Those who do not believe in Jesus cannot have this kind of peace—but those who believe in Jesus can. However, whether a believer truly experiences this transcendent peace is another matter altogether. It is like the GST Vouchers that the government distributes to residents. Every eligible resident receives a few hundred dollars in benefits. But we only truly experience the value of these vouchers when we use them.
So how do we experience God’s peace that surpasses all understanding? “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). The first step is to accept the Lord Jesus’ invitation—to come to Him and lay down all our weariness and burdens, entrusting them to Him. Concretely, this means releasing our worries, our expectations, our struggles, our worldly pursuits of success and security, our self-pride, our self-reliance, our self-seeking attitudes, and our vanity—all of these are wearisome burdens. By contrast, focusing on the Lord Jesus’ teachings and promises, following His example of self-denial, and submitting to and relying on Him. This is a far lighter path. This change may not make our outward difficulties disappear, but our hearts will surely be reshaped by the Lord’s Spirit, filled with joy and peace. The second step is, having laid down those former burdens, not to pick them up again. Achieving this requires us to continually submit to and follow the Lord Jesus. Of course, sheer willpower alone is not enough—and besides, we are not alone; the Lord Jesus helps us through the Holy Spirit. On this point, we need to do as Paul said: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). In prayer we ask the Lord for help, and for a humble and submissive heart. This will surely help us, in this world full of suffering, to continually experience peace which transcends all understanding!