Friends, this week my prayer for you is that you feel the Holy Spirit’s peace descend upon you.

I found myself this week in need of seeking the same thing. … Peace, but not just the peace that I find for myself in a walk with the dogs or hiding away with an engaging book.

No, what I was seeking this week was the peace promised to us by Jesus in the Gospel of John 14:27: “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 let them be afraid.”

Truth be told, I’ve found my heart troubled a lot lately.

That can happen when you work in emergency shelter and food pantry settings, but layer on the 24-hour news cycle that reminds us how the world treats our most vulnerable neighbors … well, it all can be depleting.

If you too are feeling weary and worn, take heart my friends, you are not alone. … As much as this world would like you to believe you are.

In fact, Jesus promises us that we’re not.

Jesus promises that he leaves his peace with us, and it’s not fleeting like the peace we try to create for ourselves. It’s a peace that we can bank on, a peace that gives us a foundation, a peace that drains out the anxiety and worry and replaces it with, if not immediate joy, at least reassurance that joy will come in the morning.

See, that’s the gimmick that the earthly world tries to play on us. The darkness — some may call it evil or sin, take your pick of names — likes to find us at our weakest moments, creep in and try to convince us that despair is our only choice.

Trust me, I know how seductive that siren song can be.

Too often, I find myself giving in to the temptation of worry and concern and helplessness.

And, if it makes you feel any better, the devil himself even tried to take advantage of Jesus’ despair in the desert. … So, it seems we’re in good company!

My friends, I don’t know where today finds you. If you’re in a good place and you can see and feel joy around you, then I wholeheartedly celebrate with you! Praise God to whom all blessings flow!

But, if you are feeling a little like me, where the world seems a little dark, a little menacing, then join me in reminding ourselves that we freely receive Jesus’ peace if only we accept it.

After all, he told us that he leaves it for each and every one of us. Amen.

Devlyn Brooks is the CEO of Churches United in Moorhead, Minn., and an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America serving Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. He blogs about faith at findingfaithin.com, and can be reached at devlynbrooks@gmail.com.