Day 5: The Lord blesses His people with peace
The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace (Psalm 29:11).
Our Father, You are the God of peace (Romans 15:33). When You pledged to send a Savior to save humans, You promised beforehand, "He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).
His arrival was celebrated by heavenly hosts who marked His birth as the herald of peace on earth (Luke 2:14). Later, the apostle Paul, in his letter to the Ephesian believers, wrote of Him, He Himself is our peace (Ephesians 2:14).
Faithful God, You have already fulfilled every promise about the birth, death, and resurrection of Your Son and Messiah, but we still await the time when the government will be on His shoulders—the time when He will reign…over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness...forever. We know that Your promises are true, and that the zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this (Isaiah 9:7).
Meanwhile, humans search in vain for peace in a fallen world of greed and selfishness, where the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. (Jeremiah 17:9). And all the while, violence escalates, unrest pervades, tensions rise, and wars break out all around. The constant cycle of war, chaos, and destruction cause weariness, anger, frustration, sadness, grief, distress, disquiet, and anxiety. We long for peace.
But only You, God, are peace. You will ultimately establish a government and peace to which there will be no end (Isaiah 9:7). But until then, the Lord Jesus has left us a gift of peace far beyond the ways and the comprehension of the world:
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives... (John 14:27).
Lord, we cannot minimize the dangers, the threats, the horrors, and the terrible realities of war. We have nothing to hold onto except for Your presence in all the chaos, confusion, and turbulence all around. You give strength to Your people and You bless them with peace.
Impress upon our hearts the words of the Lord Jesus, Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid (John 14:27).
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