December 10, 2025

SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT: PEACE

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You.” (Isaiah 26.3)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

What many Christ followers remember about Isaiah are two passages of scripture. One concerns the call of Isaiah to share the word of God to the people (Isaiah 6). The other speaks of the prophesy of the coming of the Messiah (Isaiah 9). In both instances, there is a great sense of imbalance: grief and war. If it were not for the presence of God in our lives to lead, guide and protect us, those two “instances” would ultimately define our lives. Both speak to the reality of death. For Isaiah it was the death of a king and the threat of war from the surrounding nations seeking to put Israel to death. As Isaiah declared “I am a man of unclean lips in the midst of a people of unclean lips,” he was speaking to the unworthiness he felt to the task of even being a man of God. Death (grief and war) has a way of blinding us to the truth about who we are. I do not mean who we are in the world but who we are in the Kingdom of God as the people of God. Isaiah would declare that those who put their trust in God, even in and especially in those unstable situations, would have perfect peace. Keeping their eyes focused on the truth about God caused the world to fade away and become less distracting. It would become so much easier to stay the course if all we had to do was to focus on God. Life in this world, however, is not that simply. There are distractions in abundance seeking to speak to the various parts of our who we are in the world. We become inundated with the messages of what amounts to “survival.” The truth is that only what is of God and for God will actually survive the test of time. Regardless of whether it is the “time of our life” or “time immemorial to everlasting,” things of this world will pass away. As some have said it so often, “You can’t take it with you.”

What can we take? Well, we know Jesus urged true believers to lay up their treasures in Heaven. He was not speaking of riches of gold, gems and goods, property, presents and prosperity. He was speaking of the fruit of the spirit which we give to one another as we worship and serve God together. Focusing on these treasures and returning them to God daily in prayer, allows them to continue to be manifested in us and through us to one another. They serve to create the balance of peace in our lives we desire. Think about it. The pursuit of the things of this world is the human means of survival. It is a survival empowered by inclusion, recognition and authority. It is a survival identified by “things.” It is a survival that does not satisfy because there is always something more we desire but cannot seem to grasp. I reread the story of the Rich Young Ruler who came to Jesus asking, “What must I do to have eternal life.” (Matthew 19.16-22) His question spoke of his worldly understanding of gaining that balance and being at peace. It was bound in possessions and works righteousness. Obviously, he was not balanced nor at peace. If he was, then he never would have asked Jesus the question in the first place; but he did. And so do we. We recognize that place in our lives which lacks real connection with making ourselves complete. We try to fill the void with things that will be voided. Nothing can satisfy nothing. What we need is the only something that turns nothing into meaning, purpose and true life in this world and in the next. That something is “Jesus.” He alone is our balance and our peace. This is the reminder that Christmas should bring to our spiritual mind and our conscious self. It should become so ingrained in our thinking that it becomes our default reality. We would be nothing, have nothing and do nothing of value and worth without Jesus as the Christ, Lord and Savior, brother and friend. I dare say, if we focused on “what makes for peace” and keep steadfastly in pursuit of it, then the “things” of this world will pass away and the authentic meaning and purpose of our place in the world would be undeniable and powerful. It can only happen when we put our trust in God. This is what Jesus said to the Rich Young Ruler as he offered “follow the call of true righteousness and surrender all you have to follow Me.” Sadly, it was too much to ask in that moment for the man standing before Jesus confident he had done all that was needed according to the world standard to inherit eternal life. Is it for us? Will we find our true peace and balance or will we continue to wobble until we finally do fall down?

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.