Day 18: Peacefully Yours!

You know "IT" is there.

You can almost feel

"IT"

trying to take over your whole being.

Yet you hold back,

wondering if

"IT" is really for you.

What is "IT"?

PEACE.

HIS PERFECT PEACE.

You long for it.

Yet your circumstances

are shouting anything

but PEACE.

You wonder how you could ever,

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,

 whenever you face trials of many kinds"

(James 1:2)

How is that possible?

Because what you SEE and

what you are EXPERIENCING

doesn't feel

JOYFUL.

Then CHRISTMAS gently whispers

the answer.

JESUS!

GOD BIRTHED JESUS into a troubled world.

Not simply a Baby.

Not simply a CHRISTMAS story.

But the ONE

Isaiah called

the

PRINCE OF PEACE.

PEACE

isn't the absence of trouble.

PEACE

is the PRESENCE of CHRIST.

So picture this.

JESUS

is sitting right beside you.

HE gently taps your shoulder.

HE whispers, "Turn toward ME."

You hesitate.

Because you know that when JESUS

looks into your eyes,

HE will SEE your heart.

The part of you that is anxious.

The part of you that is weary.

The part of you that is struggling

to receive

HIS PERFECT PEACE.

Yet JESUS

doesn't walk away.

HE waits

PATIENTLY,

LOVINGLY.

Finally,

you turn toward HIM.

Your eyes meet HIS.

Then HE quietly says,

"Peace I leave with you;

MY peace I give to you.

 I do not give to you as the world gives.

 Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid"

(John 14:27).

In that moment,

 nothing around you has changed.

The circumstances are still there.

The questions remain unanswered.

But something inside you has changed.

Because

HE is there.

A LOVE

that never turns away.

A LOVE that stays.

A LOVE that quiets your heart

with

HIS PEACE

that surpasses all understanding.

Then your heart begins to beat

with

HIS JOY.

Not because life is easy.

But because JESUS is near,

because

"IMMANUEL, GOD IS WITH US!"

The Baby born in Bethlehem

didn't come simply to give us a holiday.

HE came to give us

HIMSELF~

THE PRINCE OF PEACE.

Have a CHRISTMAS of the heart.

Instead of chasing PEACE,

turn toward JESUS.

Remain in HIM.~

"I am the vine; you are the branches.

 If you remain in ME and I in you,

you will bear much fruit;

 apart from ME you can do nothing"

(John 15:5).

Because when

JESUS is yours,

HIS PEACE is yours too.

And if you long to see

HIS face,

listen to HIS words~

"Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed"

(John 20:29).

Oh,

the PRINCE OF PEACE

never leaves the room.

So why would we?

Because

HE IS

"JIREH"*,

Our GOD Who Always Provides!

(Listen to the song below)