When Your Peace Falls to Pieces…

It’s the first night of Chanukah.

Christmas is days away.

And yet, the world doesn’t feel very merry or bright or full of light.

It feels dark and heavy and heartbreaking right now.

From Bondi Beach to Burma to Brown University.

It feels like… we need a miracle. (And a whole lot of gifts that money can’t buy.)

What’s on your wish list? 

A long winter’s nap, perhaps? (And by that I mean… rest for your weary soul?)

Some comfort, maybe?

Or clarity?

Forgiveness from someone you love?

Healing… mind, body, spirit? 

Hope?

Peace?

I’m not talking geopolitical; I’m talking personal. (Although geopolitical peace would be great too.)

I mean… peace of mind and heart. Heavenly peace.

Peace seems rather elusive these days. Can’t say I see a lot of folks who look like they have much. And the truth is, it isn’t “readily sourced” in our society. 

High demand. Short supply.

Even governments and treaties can’t guarantee peace.

Money can’t buy it.

Therapy doesn’t promise it.

And medication (doctor-prescribed or self-dosed) won’t sustain it.

We’re born, we grow up, and somewhere along the way (usually pretty early in the story of us), we realize…

Life is messy.

And wildly unpredictable.

(People are too.)

And that makes us anxious, unsettled, insecure… And then at some point we realize it’s been a while since we had a restful night’s sleep. Or any solace at all, really.

So what’s your missing peace?

A dreaded “what if?”

An aching “if only?”

Feeling utterly alone?

Or completely numb?

Nagging guilt?

Burnout? …Fallout?

Gripping fear?

Overwhelming despair?

Peace is what grounds us and soothes us. It holds and helps us, comforts and steadies us. So we can keep calm and carry on.

There’s not a person alive that doesn’t need that lifeline. Securely fastened to withstand tumult and trouble, strong enough to catch us in an unforeseen freefall, durable enough to hold fast.

What are you hanging onto?

We grope around, grasping for “things” to give us peace and keep us safe: home and health insurance, law enforcement agencies and pharmaceuticals, security systems and savings accounts and self-defense courses. We mistakenly believe that if we put all the right pieces in place, nothing will breach our carefully-constructed “fortresses.” We rely on our own resilience, resources and capabilities to rescue us. Or we look to family, friends, doctors, lawyers, therapists – all of whom will eventually fail us. . . or leave us. . . or die…

You see, peace isn’t a policy or prescription.

There’s no elixir or injection.

It isn’t something you can “manifest” for yourself.

In all the universe, there’s only one accessible yet indestructible “safe place.” One single surefire source of peace. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not pitching lifelong “health, wealth, and prosperity” from some cosmic genie here. That’s delusional.

No one on the planet winds up with a footloose, fancy-free, always-blissful life. There’s no actual Shangri-La to be found. There’s no Fountain of Youth either, by the way; I’ve looked. (The State of Denial is very real, however. I know some people who live there.)

The truth is… life is hard. 

And sometimes it hurts like hell.

A man named Job once wrote:

Man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.

True that.

There it is. Right smack in the middle of the Bible. 

The Good Book readily acknowledges the bad and ugly in this world too. It warns of affliction, calamity, depths of sorrow. Anguish, grief, disease, despair. No wonder peace evades us.

There’s no getting around it. No matter who you are, how you live, what resources you have… trouble’s inevitable. Struggles, stress and conflict are just par for the course.

Worse yet, every once in a while the bottom drops out.

And our peace… falls to pieces.

Because there isn’t an effective readiness plan for every disaster, no relational fix-it formula, no medication that cures hate.

But there is someone who promises to never leave you or fail you. Who’s right there, thisclose, when you’re at your lowest and worst…

He whispers his promise:

I am with you… I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you… 

Let me ask you a question:

Who in your life is readily aware of what you’re going through right now? While you’re taking care of others, who’s fully attentive to your needs? Who sees you – really sees – and knows you, heart and soul? 

Who knows what lies ahead and is already there, waiting with open arms? Who’s willing to patiently, tenderly care for you day and night?

God gives the answer:

I AM.

Peace isn’t some thing. It’s Someone.

Jehovah-Shalom.

(In Hebrew, God’s name means: “the LORD, our Peace.”)

There’s a promise from God in the Bible that reads:

You will keep in perfect peace

     all who trust in you,

     all whose thoughts are fixed on you! ~ Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)

Perfect peace… I’m pretty sure that’s on all our wish lists.

The problem is… we can’t see God, or reach out and touch him, hold on for dear life. Our anxious thoughts tell us he’s distant… distracted… (disinterested?)… and our trust gives way to unbelief. Our peace so often gets washed away in a flood of fear.

God anticipated it. So he sent his son Jesus – the baby we celebrate at Christmastime – to live on this dusty planet and show us who God is. To befriend and feed us, touch and teach us, comfort and carry us, help and heal us… 

To save us from ourselves. 

He sacrificed his own life, poured out his blood – to cover our mistakes and selfishness and sin. 

And after he breathed his last breath… and was buried… he beat death itself. So that one day we could truly, forever… rest in peace.

Before he returned to his Father in heaven, these were Jesus’ parting words to his friends, to us:

I leave you peace. It is my own peace I give you. I give you peace in a different way than the world does. So don’t be troubled. Don’t be afraid. ~ John 14:27 (ERV)

Jesus – he – gives peace.

He is peace.

What do you hear… Especially this time of year? If you listen closely, you’ll hear something ringing… outside a storefront perhaps… or resounding from a steeple.

Listen.

The bells of Christmas. 

They ring to remind us that everything we wish for… the love we so desperately desire… has already been delivered… by God himself.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Remember the story of that very first Christmas?

Once upon a time… a man named… 

Joseph went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

It’s a true story. 

And that should give us comfort and peace, on the hardest days and darkest nights, at Christmastime… and all the time. 

Even after great personal tragedy – and during the harrowing days of the Civil War – a man named Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was able to find solace in the good news and great joy that God bestowed that very first Christmas. As he listened to the church bells ring on Christmas Day 1864, he was inspired to write a beautiful poem which begins like this:

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet,

the words repeat,

Of peace on earth, good will to men. 

The scripture the poet quoted comes from Luke, chapter 2:

Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace and good will toward men.”

Glory to God… for his gift of great love.

The hope of this weary world.

The Savior of all who believe. 

Jesus… our Prince of Peace. 

When you hear doorbells or store bells, sleigh bells or church bells this Christmas, I pray you’ll remember the angel’s words and welcome the gift of JESUS into your heart.

He’s the reason for the season… and the very best gift of all.

May his amazing grace, his endless love and his sweet, sweet peace be yours tonight… and forever after. 

Wendy