Advent Guide: The Wonder of ChristmasSample

What Peace?

For someone named the Prince of Peace, Jesus sure did cause a lot of conflict. You may have experienced this in your own life and wondered if Jesus is the Prince of Peace, why do we face trials or strife? This can be especially true during the season we celebrate the Prince of Peace but often feel more stressed than any other time of the year. So how can we experience peace?

We have to remember Jesus promised us Peace, but not the easy way. In John 16:33, Jesus tells us we will have trouble in this world. Yet, we can feel Peace because He has overcome the world. We can rest knowing no matter what we face, Jesus has overcome it and with Him, we can as well.

Next, we need to regularly take an inventory of our lives, relationships, and spiritual well-being. Sometimes when we're not experiencing Peace, it's not because of the world around us or that God is testing us, but it's because we have our priorities out of whack and have allowed sin to take control. To experience Peace, we have to seek God with all our hearts and live in the Spirit as we follow Jesus.

Finally, we must remember that experiencing Peace is an active process. Jesus had hard conversations with the religious leaders and His disciples. He had to pray, fast, and face temptation. He had to face the Cross and overcome the grave. If we want to experience the blessings of Peace and allow others around us to as well, we need to be actively involved in the process. We don't experience or bring Peace by hiding in our bubbles and avoiding the darkness and pain of the world. Instead, we experience Peace by actively engaging in that darkness and pain and being the Hands and Feet of Jesus.

In this season where we celebrate the Prince of Peace, I encourage you to slow down and take a moment to reflect on whether you feel like you're experiencing the Peace of Jesus and consider who around you hasn't yet experienced that Peace. Refocus your life on being the Hands and Feet of Jesus and bringing Peace to a hurting world around you.

Buck Baskin is the Technology Director for Sunnyvale ISD. He has been a foster and adoptive parent with his wife Stephanie for 12 years. They have one biological child, Selah (8), and two adopted children, James and Niki who are 11. His favorite thing about the Christmas season is Christmas movies.