Advent Week 2–PEACE

By Jeremiah Charles Williams

Advent Week 2—PEACE

Matthew 5:9 

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called Child of God.

Isaiah 26:3  

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. 

Psalms 29:11 

The Lord gives strength to his people 

and the Lord blesses his people with peace.

John 14: 27 

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, do not be afraid.

Romans 15:13

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

God is Peace, I Am at Peace 

by Jeremiah Charles Williams

Peace and blessing to you from my heavenly Father.  Friends, let’s take a deep breath… Let’s all  inhale and exhale… One more time– inhale and exhale. For those few seconds did you feel the peace in your heart and mind? 

I want to tell you an experience last month that happened, and it was nothing but the Holy Spirit and me. It was the first snow fall of the year, a nice evening.  The moment it started snowing I stepped outside and it was nothing but peace.  You could hear a pin drop–the world felt like it paused for a few minutes just watching the snow fall.  It was so dark outside,  but all I felt in that moment was to thank God for the peace and His mercy.  Even when it looks dark God is still there in the midst of it all. 

As we get into the holiday season things can get very hectic–preparing for Thanksgiving, making sure there is enough food, does everyone have a place to stay, will all the family members who said they will be there actually be there?   Then a few weeks later, Christmas comes along–having to buy a Christmas tree, all the decorations, making sure your house feels warm when people come over, having to buy many gifts. It can be a lot! But when everything is said and done, I hope we feel at peace and have joy that we were able to host and bring people together.  When we go to someone’s house,  I hope we feel at peace, even in this busy season.  That’s what Jesus has for us. Luke 2:14 says,  “Glory to God in the highest Heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Even when we have Jesus in our life and know He has our back, sometimes, we do worry about life.  We read of the disciples in Mark 4:35-41 on the boat during the storm. Jesus was sleeping and the disciples went to wake him up.  They asked, “Do you care if we perish?”  and Jesus said quiet to the storm. We as believers have to remember that even when we feel overwhelmed or don’t see the next chapter in our life, we can trust in the Lord because He is the author and the finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). When the peacemaker speaks, peace comes into action. Can I get an “Amen”?!

Let’s pray:

Eternal Master, Lord God, we thank you that you are the peacemaker. Lord God, we thank you that you give us peace when we can’t see through a storm. Lord God, I pray that we will trust in you more during the hard times because we know if God be for us who can be against us. We thank you that the peace you leave, the peace you give us, the world did not give to us. Let not our hearts be troubled, and Lord, if we need to repent, let us do so in the powerful name of the only one who can save. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Reflect:

Here is a song to end our devotion–Peace Be Still. Is there a storm in your life where you need Him to say, “Peace, be still”? Bring it to Him as you listen.