Unbothered

John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid"

A fun fact about me is that I have very vivid dreams. Most of the time I do not share those dreams as I feel that God has a purpose in them and until He reveals/confirms that purpose I refrain from sharing. HOWEVER, I had a dream the other night that had a purpose and lesson in it; thus, I must share!

The building I work in has an area on the second floor that is made up of all windows. Every morning we sit in this area to have breakfast and talk about current events. My dream was no different as we were sitting there I looked out of the window and noticed a storm was coming. All of my co-workers know that I have this edginess about tornados so every time the weather looks back I look out for funnel clouds, which are a sign of tornado formation. Before I could even mention funnel clouds I notice a tornado headed our way and suddenly the entire building had turned into the windowed area that we usually sit in. At that point I realized that there was no place to take cover so I just stood at the window watching the tornado destroy every single building around the one I was in. Eventually, the winds had calmed and the storm was over. Everything around me had been flattened yet the building I was in was unbothered.

For days now I have asked God for the purpose, meaning, or lesson in that dream because I couldn't understand #1 Why I just stood there in the most dangerous place I could be and #2 Why my building remained untouched through it all; so here is what He helped me conclude. No matter what is going on around us remember that we are covered by the blood and nothing can harm us as long as we BELIEVE that He protects and controls everything that happens and doesn't happen to us. There is a sense of peace (in which Jesus left as a parting gift) that comes with knowing whose you are and the protection that He provides for you. There is nothing the world  that can override what Jesus has done once you've made up your mind to receive Him. While they're throwing all kinds of things your way you can remain unbothered resting in peace. Understand that Jesus' death not only protects you from your own sins it also protects you from the results of the sin of others. Some of our storms aren't a result of decisions we've made or things we've done, but decisions made and things done by other people.

So, in John 14:27 Jesus says "peace I leave with you" then He further specifies by saying "MY peace I give you". You may ask "well what is the difference?" Recall when Jesus Calms the Storm in Mark 4, the disciples were kind of annoyed that they were in the midst of a terrible storm yet Jesus was asleep in the boat; unbothered. This storm came right after Jesus had fed the multitude with the 2 fish and 5 loaves. After a miracle like that the devil was surely mad; however, Jesus was unbothered. That's the kind of peace we have to have and that's how we must approach our storms. Say "Devil, you can do all you want to try to stop me but know that Jesus still has the power to shut you down AND He will".  Don't lose any sleep during your storm because God is in control so don't be afraid or troubled.