[Christ declared] “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
Sometimes we feel courageous. We feel strong enough to say to some new thing we are asked to do,
“Now bid me run
And I will strive with things impossible,
Yea, get the better of them.”
Sometimes, however, it is not like that. Then these words come, “peace I leave with you,” peace, not conscious power. But as we go on, power comes to do whatever God wants us to do. First peace–then power. That is always God’s way. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
“…that IN ME ye might have peace”… Sometimes our circumstances are so peaceful, that without knowing it we slip into finding our peace in them. Then something happens to disturb them and our peace is disturbed. Sometimes those about us are so dear that our hearts rest in them, and this is good, but it is not enough, for what if one, in whose love we trust, should disappoint us?
Our Lord did not say, The things (the things of John chapter 16) I have spoken unto you, that in your circumstances ye might have peace; or, These things I have spoken unto you that in the love of others ye might have peace; but He did say, “These things”–things of wonder, joy, sorrow, preparation–“I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace.”
“Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord … if they have kept My saying they will keep yours also.”[John 15:20] Is there any surprise of grief that our dear Lord has not foreseen? Is there any wound to love that His love has not suffered?
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace.”
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Amy Carmichael, Edges of His Ways, (Christian Literature Crusade, 1955), 65,66.
“AMY WILSON CARMICHAEL (1867-1951) Missionary to India; founder of the Dohnavur Fellowship, a society devoted to saving neglected and ill-treated children. Amy Carmichael was born into a strong Presbyterian home in northern Ireland. The oldest of seven children, she was thrust into early maturity by the death of her father. She was adopted and tutored by Robert Wilson, cofounder of the Keswick Convention, and through his influence she became the first missionary supported by the Keswick Missions Committee. After fifteen months in Japan, Amy Carmichael arrived in India in 1895 under the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society. She served in India for fifty-six years without a furlough. The children of India, especially those who were to be dedicated as temple prostitutes, became the focus of her efforts. From it arose in 1901 the Dohnavur Fellowship, with more than one thousand children in three homes, a hospital, and evangelistic work. Because of her devotion to these children, Amy was known as “Amma” (“mother” in the Tamil language).
“Carmichael was a prolific writer, producing thirty-five published books including His Thoughts Said … His Father Said (1951), If (1953), and Edges of His Ways (1955). Best known, perhaps, is an early historical account, Things as They Are: Mission Work in Southern India (1903). The book’s frankness stunned a Christian public accustomed to “victory stories” from missionaries. In 1931 Miss Carmichael was badly injured in a fall, which left her bedridden much of the time until her death. She remained in India, however, and continued to write devotional books and poetry.”
– M. FACKLER, Who’s Who In Christian History (Tyndale House Publishers).
Grace Notes, June 15, 2006