Overwhelming Peace?

Thanksgiving and Christmas are over for another year.  Have you already played your last Christmas carol, taken down the Christmas tree, packed away all the decorations, and are now busily designing your New Year’s diet plan?  You are not alone. I imagine most of America is doing the same thing.

What are you feeling as you reflect on the holiday past? Gratitude, disappointment, joy, or maybe simply peace?

Recently I read this familiar passage written by Isaiah, “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

I am reflecting on that sense of peace I feel inside that never leaves me…that settled feeling that “all is well” even when all the circumstances that surround me say it is not. This peace, only found in Jesus, is described as a “peace that passes all understanding.”

Following the 2008 real estate market crash, my husband searched for a fulfilling career to replace the career he successfully pursued for 20 years. The market actually him into a career change he desired for years.

The search for a satisfying new career proved, as it did for many Americans, trying, difficult and sometimes absolutely devastating. Yet, in the midst of all the difficulty, by trusting, relying, and depending on God alone, our faith soared and our marriage blossomed in amazing ways.  

And this all became very real as I sit on my living room couch reading this passage and realizing I actually have complete and total peace. I am no longer afraid. I am not terrified at what the future holds. We have persevered. God has faithfully provided and cared for us these years and my peace persists.  

I can say absolutely, without a doubt that in Christ there is a peace that passes all understanding.  It actually makes no sense but it is so tangibly real it is as if you can touch it. How? Because He IS peace. Jesus Christ is Peace Incarnate. And without Jesus, no one can ever have this peace.

So as you encounter people this New Year who appear to “have it all together” yet are devoid of faith in Jesus, remember that there is one thing of which you can be sure… they have no peace.

So what do you carry with you that everyone needs, no one can obtain on their own and which you can share with everyone? Jesus’ peace that passes all understanding.

You hold the gift they are waiting for and as you live Your Refreshed Life in gratitude and appreciation for this gift, don’t forget to deliver it to the ones who need it most.

As we anticipate this New Year with all its many surprises, twists and turns, may we rejoice in the peace Jesus gives regardless of circumstances and surroundings.  May we find His peace as we abide and dwell with the Prince of Peace Himself, the One who is Peace Incarnate.

New Year’s Blessings to you and yours!
The Watermans

DECEMBER 31, 2019COMMENT