The Pastor’s Pen
By Steven Temple

Advent is the expectation of the arrival or coming of Christ. In this Christmas season, with all of the hustle and bustle, we need to seek and search for the peace that only comes from God. Jesus told his disciples in John 16:33 that in this world we will have tribulations. We can look in every direction of our lives and see the hurts, pains, and sorrows all around us. Whether we hear of such things on the radio, read them in the newspapers or social media, see them on the television, or are familiar with them in our own lives, we know that many people and places are affected. We have experienced the tribulations more abundantly, it seems, than the times of peace in our lives.

During this Christmas season many are feeling bombarded with so many things to do and so little time to accomplish them. Many are filled with anxieties and difficulties with a list of things to do and under complete stress when dealing with them. Life seems to be overwhelming, especially now, because we have this mandated date and time when everything must be completed by. Yes, Christmas Day. It comes every year on the same date, December 25th. But even knowing this it just seems like there is not enough time in order to accomplish or finish everything that we need to. Some people are uneasy and very touchy at this time of year because their plate is overflowing. From gift shopping, wrapping, attending parties, plays, dinners, school functions, work deadlines and goals, our peace may suffer.

The word “peace” is found about 90 times in The New Testament alone. Each time it reminds us that God is the author of this peace and we are challenged to always strive for this peace. Just as Jesus told his disciples in that same scripture, John 16:33, that in this world you shall have tribulations, He also tells them that “in me ye might have peace.” God gives us this peace, this restfulness in our spirit regardless of what we face or encounter. God is the originator of this peace. He grants it to us and we are to live in it even when we can not fully understand or explain this peace.

When we are in the peace of God things around us can fall to pieces, yet we are not moved. I am reminded of the Apostle Paul when I think about this. Paul was a prisoner. He was being taken to Rome to stand trial. On this voyage across the sea a storm arose. This storm was a great storm. It began to beat and to batter the ship. The ship was being tossed to and fro. The ship was suffering damage and it did not look like that it would survive this storm. The waves were crashing, the winds were blowing, the bow and stern began to break. Those on the ship were running back and forth. They were scared. They had great fear. But Paul was settled. Paul was not worried. Everyone else on the ship was about to lose their minds. They were afraid, they were scared, they thought they were going to die, they thought the ship would fail and they would be cast into the sea to drown. But Paul was found resting in the middle of the storm. He had the peace of God that surpassed any and all understanding.

The people on the ship could not understand how he was not anxious, how he was not worried. They did not understand how he was calm, why he wasn’t in panic mode. How could he just sit there? How could he not run looking for ways to steer or to take cover from this storm? Paul had the peace of God. Paul told them to be of good cheer. He had the peace that was not disturbed by the storm. The peace he had was not affected by the wind. The rain didn’t change it, it was not altered by what others were doing. Paul was resting in the peace of God and nothing that was going on or happening around him could take that from him. The peace that Paul had, the world did not give it to him nor could the world take it away. This is the peace that Jesus is telling his disciples that is only found in Him. There are troubles in this life, but there is peace in Jesus and that is what I am hopeful that you will find in this season.

Do not let the things of this life take away the peace you have found in Christ. You can not replace this peace of God with things from the shelves of a store, you can not replace it with something written on a prescription pad, and you will not find it online during a cyber sale. This peace is only found when we come to Jesus. It is from Him and through Him that we can have this peace that is indescribable and unexplainable. May you seek for this peace during this Christmas season. Until next time, Jesus loves you, God Bless!

 

Pastor Steven Temple is the Pastor of The Church on the Hill in Rose Hill, Virginia.