We Need Christmas With Matthew West Sample

3. We Need Peace

Research has shown how essential a good night’s sleep is to an individual’s overall health. Unfortunately, I’m a light sleeper, and when I travel, quality sleep goes right out the tour bus window. While a tour bus may look glamorous from the outside, I spend most nights tossing and turning as we roll down the interstate. Who needs sheep when you can count every pothole the bus driver hits? I’ve tried sound machines that simulate an ocean tide or rain on a tin roof. I’ve tried sleep aids that make me feel drowsy the next day. But only one thing seems to put me right to sleep: reading my Bible! 

Before judging me for that last sentence, let me explain. There’s something about reading my Bible late at night that makes my eyes start to droop and my heart rate drop. It’s not because God’s word is boring! God’s word is alive and active. But there is a peace, a calm that comes over me when I read my Bible. It makes me think of one of my favorite carols, “Silent Night.” We close out each Christmas concert by singing it with the audience by candlelight. Sleep in Heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace.

What is “heavenly peace?” The Bible talks about a peace that passes understanding that will guard our minds. God offers us a peace that is so real and so calming that we can’t even understand. In other words, even in times of chaos, anxiety, fear, and uncertainty, times when it would be normal to feel anything but peace, peace can still rule our hearts. 

How are you sleeping these days? What keeps you up at night? What troubles your soul and worries your heart? At Christmas, we hear the word “peace” often, usually in the form of a prayer for peace on earth. And while I am sure we are praying for peace in our troubled world, I’m praying for you to experience peace in your troubled heart this Christmas. A peace that nothing in this world can offer. I pray that you will rest in, hope in, trust in, and sleep in heavenly peace.