Peace like a river

There was a chorus I learned as a child in Sunday school that goes something like this.
"I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river in my soul."
This is repeated, and then there are a couple of other verses: Love like a river, Joy like a river. Then the kids all enjoyed singing all three together in the final verse. It's a happy song, one that makes you feel good.

Last evening I was reminded of that little chorus when a person told me she has been experiencing afresh the peace of God this week. That's a wonderful experience in these times, for surely there is great anxiety in our society and often in our personal lives. The peace of God is not the absence of all conflict or concern. It is the abiding presence of the assurance of God's love and care in the midst of our struggles. This peace of God, says the New Testament, "passes all understanding." In other words, it is deeper than we can fathom or express. But the assurance that a relationship with God brings offers hope and meaning for a daily living, and it confirms to us our place in the family of God. Do you have that "peace like a river?" It is made available to us through the One we call the Prince of Peace: Jesus Christ.