Peace in Daddy's Arms

Thursday, August 28, 2003

It was chaos in our living room. Most of the family was there, and we're not a quiet bunch. Everyone's a communicator and everyone was communicating. The adults were involved in several conversations at once. Our two young grandsons were playing with -- let's call it enthusiasm -- maybe hoping to command a little attention. Surveying the uproar in our living room, I suddenly noticed a precious scene in the corner. It was our son with his dark-haired infant daughter, sprawled peacefully in her Daddy's arms. First they had been cheek to cheek, then she just simply fell asleep, oblivious to the storm around her, and safe in her Daddy's arms.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Peace in Daddy's Arms."

Our granddaughter felt safe, not because she wasn't in the middle of chaos -- believe me, she was -- but because of the security she has being in her Father's arms. It's a kind of security maybe you can only wish for right now because everything around you is up for grabs. Divorce can do that. A bad report from the doctor can do that, losing your job, losing someone you love, facing some frightening unknowns -- so many upheavals that can stress us, scare us, sink us. They remind us of a search we've been all our whole life -- the search for a safe place, no matter how out of control things around us may become -- the search for peace.

That search will not end until you are safe in your Father's arms -- Heavenly Father, that is. You weren't made to navigate life's white water alone. You were made for an intimate, trusting love relationship with the God who created you. The peace we need so badly is exactly what Jesus Christ promised to every person who belongs to Him. In John 14:27, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus says, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." Let those words sink into your storm-battered soul. "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you." That peace is within your reach this very day.

I've seen that peace -- peace that has nothing to do with what's swirling around you. I saw it in my friend John the day his largest account walked out the door and forced him to shut down the thriving business he had built. But he had that peace. I saw it in my friend Cindy as she stood by her husband's gray casket with her three young children. We went to comfort her. She comforted us. She had that peace. The day the plane I was on prepared for an emergency crash landing, the frightened lady next to me asked how I could be so peaceful. I said, "Well, when your peace comes from a personal relationship with Jesus, you can have peace, no matter how frightening what's happening around you is." I could have died that day. But the peace held. It's my little granddaughter resting peacefully in her Daddy's arms.

That's the kind of relationship with God that Jesus offers you. Only He can offer it because only He died to pay the price for the sin that keeps us from a sinless God. Because the peace we really need -- the peace we've been looking for -- is peace with God. Which the Bible says is "through our Lord Jesus Christ," who this very moment may be working in your heart, urging you to give yourself to Him. If you're not sure you belong to Jesus Christ, the One the Bible calls the Prince of Peace, tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours. My life is Yours to lead from this moment on." If that's what you want, then I want to send you my booklet, "Yours For Life." It's about beginning your personal relationship with Jesus. Just let me know you want it.

The peace that may have eluded you your whole life is within your reach today. It's peace that can only be found, that can always be found, in your Daddy's arms.