That was the message of the night when Christ was born. “Peace on earth, good will toward men”.
But what kind of peace? There was and has been unrest and wars, divisions between nations and people. Was God wrong to have the angels proclaim peace? Not hardly!
The peace that Christ brought to earth was a peace between God, the Father, and all mankind.
“When anyone is in Christ, it is a whole new world. The old things are gone; suddenly, everything is new! 18 All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between himself and us. And God gave us the work of bringing people into peace with him. 19 I mean that God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold people guilty for their sins. And he gave us this message of peace to tell people.” II Corinthians 5:17-19 ERV
What an amazingly, wonderful gift! Peace with God; God’s goodwill being poured out on us. It’s a heart peace, a freedom from worry. A mindset that God loves me, and I can trust Him with my life. I can trust Him to want good for me, I can trust Him to protect me. I can trust Him to give me peace.
“Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks for what you have. 7 And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds.
8 Brothers and sisters, continue to think about what is good and worthy of praise. Think about what is true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected. 9 And do what you learned and received from me—what I told you and what you saw me do. And the God who gives peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:6-9 ERV
God’s peace will stand guard over ALL my thoughts – imagine that. Every thought guarded by peace!
I’ve heard it said that the war or battlefield we face as Christians is the one in our mind. I agree with that. Fear starts in our thoughts – the “what if’s”. What if I get cancer, lose my job, my kids rebel, my spouse leaves, I’m injured or killed? What if?
“We break down every thought and proud thing that puts itself up against the wisdom of God. We take hold of every thought and make it obey Christ.” II Corinthians 10:5 NLV
Replace the what ifs with things that are good, worthy of praise, true, honest, pure and lovely. This is why it is so important to have our hearts and minds filled with God’s word. The word of God is the sword that helps us fight the battle in our own imaginations.
God’s word has promised us protection, provision, a life of peace. We need to appropriate those promises.
The peace that the Father promised didn’t come in a big box wrapped with a beautiful bow, no. It was delivered on a normal night, in a small town, wrapped in strips of cloth and put in a feed trough. His name was Prince of Peace and He comes to all who will receive Him.