“If this day you only knew what makes for peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes.” These words of Jesus were addressed to the people of Jerusalem as he made his final entry before his passion. He goes on to describe how their enemies will kill them and destroy their temple, “because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” ((Luke19:42, 44)
Luke reports that Jesus wept as he approached the city, for the people had failed to recognize that God had visited them in the flesh.
After all of the time he spent with them, after all of the miracles, after all the teaching, they still did not recognize that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was present to them in the person of Jesus. They did not accept him as the Messiah they had waited for so long, and the consequences were dire.
How often do we lose our peace because we forget that God in the person of Jesus and the Holy Spirit is in us? Jesus tells us: he is with us always (Mt. 28:20); he wants us to come to him when we are weary or burdened (Mt. 11:28); he and the Father want to make their home in us (John 14:23); and apart from him we can do nothing (John 15:5).
When I get angry with an inattentive store clerk or phone solicitor, I forget that the Father and Jesus reside in me, and I lose my peace. When I am indifferent to a homeless person asking for money at a stoplight, I forget that the Jesus in me wants to show him mercy. When I fail to stop and listen to a family member or friend who wants to talk or share a problem, I am putting shackles on God’s mercy and love that are waiting to be manifested through me.
When I refuse to embrace the cross in daily sacrifices, whether small and large, Jesus has some strong words – he says that anyone who does not take his cross and follow him “is not worthy of him.” (Mt. 10:38)
Yet, God never stops bidding us to seek him. He has put in us a hunger for him whether we realize it or not. It is a part of our human DNA. God weeps when we do not recognize his presence in our lives.
Do we know what brings us peace? It is the presence of God dwelling in us through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, being poured out through us on the people and circumstances in our lives.
Is peace hidden from your eyes?
Christ In Life And Work 
I lose peace when I try to control the circumstances of my life and I do this out of fear that God’s goodness will not be manifest in my life. As I reflect on this, I realize this is deception from the enemy and that God has shown Himself to be trustworthy in my life. Today, I will allow Him to move me forward in intimacy and trust as I continue to let go of my need to control.
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The metaphor you used regarding our failures to be open to others at various moments as “putting shackles on God’s mercy,” stung my conscience. Thank you for reminding us of the responsibility we always bear to listen to the Lord in the moment. By listening and obeying we have the potential to do so much for building His kingdom.
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Thanks, Bill
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