Make me a channel of Your Peace

It is such a well-known prayer – “Make me a channel of your peace”. It is one of my favourite hymns to sing with the seniors at Howick Baptist Resthome. I look at the faces of these dear people who are moving in their final season and I see the joy and peace on the faces of some and the anxiety or uncertainty on the faces of others.

Jesus said: “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.” The absence of peace means the presence of fear.

I read somewhere: “Peace is the divine gift of the ability to remain faithful, calm and patient in spite of the panic of unfulfilled dreams, unpleasant circumstances and unavoidable uncertainty.”

As a follower of Jesus, I can access this peace He talks about in John 14. It is a gift “My peace I give you.” I can choose to be a peace-carrying vessel. Only peace-filled people can calm down anxious people. I can choose to be a peace-filled person.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
Where there is offence, let me bring pardon.
Where there is discord, let me bring union.
Where there is error, let me bring truth.
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.
Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.

St Francis of Assisi gave up the wealth he came from to live as a servant of God. What will I give up to be a peacemaker, a pipeline through which peace flows?

May Howick Community Church be a place where people find peace from this weary world, we live in.

Brigitte