My favorite spot in my home during this time of year is in my living room snuggled under a blanket, hearing nothing but the sound of the fire crackling in the fireplace. My eyes are entangled in the flames as they dance around almost harmoniously. The empty stockings hang above waiting to be filled in less than a week and the warm lights on the Christmas tree give off a glow that offers just enough light to open my Bible and prepare my heart for the day and the season that greets my heart with gladness.
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
Isaiah 9:6
The number of times I have read the verse above over the span of my life must be quite a few times by now. But as I read it at this moment my mind is consumed by the last three words –Prince of Peace. These words in Isaiah are a prophecy from hundreds and hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus. And even in such a great span of time between the prophecy and the actual birth of Jesus, there was no doubt who Jesus was to be.
As my mind continued to ponder on this idea of peace, I evaluated what it looks like in my life. I wondered what it looks like in your life. I took the liberty to look up what the Biblical definition of peace means. To sum up my readings, here are a few explanations of the meaning:
To be complete and whole, to live well, be in harmony, and to be in a right relationship.
To be in a right relationship…I landed right here.
Jesus was born to bring peace to the world. Yet so often my mind is only about the peace in my own life. How to obtain this peace, how to maintain it in my everyday struggles and headaches? How to walk in it, trust in it and rest in it. I think so often our earthly brains complicate the reality of meaning and truth behind the promises that that little baby born in a manger to a virgin brings to us.
Did Jesus come to bring peace to the world? Yes –100%! How does Jesus bring peace to billions of people in a world as broken as the one we live in today? He didn’t come to make our lives happy or free of problems because He knew that our true peace would never be found in the things or circumstances of life. He brought peace to us by allowing us to chance to be in a right relationship with a Holy God. And that relationship, my friend, is where Peace happens. It is here and only here that you can look beyond your frustration, hurt, worry, and pain and see the meaning and purpose behind the promises of God. It is here that we are granted peace because we trust that nothing disturbs God’s sovereign plan. Regardless of where you find yourself today, His plan is still the same as it was when God’s Son stepped down out of heaven knowing the path that awaited Him. He knew it and He did it anyways because this was the only way for you and I to have peace in our lives on earth.
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." John 14:27
Peace has nothing to do with the outcome of your day. Peace has everything to do with your trust in Christ. If this peace that the Bible speaks of could be obtained and maintained by earthly things, it would be altered from second to second, moment to moment, and day to day. Jesus came as the Prince of Peace to make a way for the entire human race to be made right with God. And truthfully, if He never did anything else for us, that should be enough.
Where is your heart today? What does peace look like for you? I encourage you today to rest in the certainty that as you celebrate Christmas, rejoice in the truth of the baby born in Bethlehem. The one that came to reconcile His people back to a right relationship with a Holy God and offer to us “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.” Our earthly brains cannot grasp the plans brought forth by the God of Creation, but faith means that our hearts believe it, trust in it and rest in it because the Bible shows us the flawless magnificent picture from beginning to end.
Wishing you peace that only comes from resting in the Almighty this Christmas Season and forever to come. Merry Christmas!
Joyfully HIS
Jennifer Pearson
If I can be praying for you in any way over this Christmas season, please click the button below, type in your prayers and I will add you to my prayer journal.
This month I will not be sending out a Bible reading plan. Instead, I would like to encourage you to find daily advent devotions to read to prepare your hearts for Christmas and the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If you are looking for Advent Devotions, please contact me and I will gladly send a few of my favorites.