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peace can be a reality


The very best things are often hard to put a finger on.  Last week we talked much about HOPE and the fact that Jesus is our only HOPE and strength.  The opposite of HOPE is FEAR, and the result or the return on HOPE is PEACE.  PEACE is the literal substance of putting our trust in the right place, in Christ.

Philippians 4:6-7  NASB
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

That’s the highest point and the most incredible place of peace.  It doesn't come because of what we have, what we have achieved or because of the family we were born in to.  It comes, peace does, because of who we trust.  Think about it.

Peace is the absence of anxiety.  Peace is the truth that we are leaning in to God through prayer.  The result of trusting God is that we have peace.  This peace isn’t like the absence of war or the end of a fight.  This peace goes beyond what we understand to guard our hearts and minds.  It guards, goes around, holds tight, reassures us inside and out that God is God, and God has us.

Christmas is about Christ.  Christ is the giver of peace.  And we need both in big doses.  Wait.  A dose is not some medicine that a doctor prescribes or something we ingest that makes us feel better.  This dose covers the heart, the deepest place where we live from and where we get what we need.  I look at the manger from the Christmas scene.  Within this feeding trough is one of the things that gives people the most joy that we can experience.  A new baby has been born.

Jesus brought to Mary and Joseph joy when He was born.  Jesus brings us hope.  Knowing Him brings us peace.  I ask that we take some time this season to allow the peace God gives to surround us, hold us and change us day in and day out.

Some people miss the strength and the joy of Christmas and the peace Jesus gives.  But when ordinary people who are doing ordinary things see something that isn’t ordinary, things change.  Here is an interesting thought: familiarity breeds contempt.  In other words, the closer your get to something or the more familiar you are with it we more we miss, the less we care and the more boring it seems.  The world was and continues to look for a messiah. 

Christmas is one of the greatest things we think about and deal with each year, but Jesus’ birth as well as His life lead us to even more places.

1 Timothy 3:16  NLT
Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith: Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit.  He was seen by angels and announced to the nations.  He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory.

Take a look at the aspects of that verse.  Every part is an important part of what gives us the peace of God.  We are God’s people when we know Jesus and when He has us.

Psalm 29:11  NLT
The Lord gives his people strength.  The Lord blesses them with peace.

Proverbs 1:33  NLT
But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.

Knowing God and listening to God bring that peace to life.  Christmas reminds us that peace is a reality for us.  Trust God.  Place your faith and hope in Him.  Allow God to give you and me and all those around us unending and sweet peace!
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