If you've read "These My Christmas Dreams" you'll recognize this, but I felt it was so appropriate this year, so I'm putting it in the blog - hope you don't mind the reprint.
Was
there peace in Bethlehem 2000 years ago?
When
the Christ, the holy Son of God, was born – did stillness flow?
Were
the streets of Bethlehem peaceful and serene,
with
quiet steps and whispered words -
a
special Christmas scene?
People
will tell you there was no peace in the city there -
with
soldiers marching,
merchants
selling,
beggars
pleading,
voices
yelling – no peace found anywhere.
But
deep in my heart, I picture instead
peace
for the Child
in
his rough manger bed.
I
believe that
In the stable God harbored our Savior with peace.
He protected and watched Him that
night
In the sheepfold, He proclaimed
to the shepherds his peace,
As Bethlehem’s sky burned with light
In her heart, I believe, God gave
Mary his peace,
though trials surrounded Christ’s
birth
And
I believe that He came to bless us with the peace
that
transcends what we see here on earth.
Our world sounds a little like
the town of Bethlehem when Christ was born, with soldiers marching, merchants
selling, beggars pleading, voices yelling – no peace found anywhere. We have politics and wars and unrest in the
world. Considering the way the world
celebrates the Christmas season our lives get busier and busier. We shop and cook and entertain, we plan and
worry about the cost and then we sometimes wonder where the peace can be in all
of this.
Do you think that possibly
we’re looking in the wrong places? Do
you think that possibly we’re expecting the wrong type of peace? Christ talked of HIS peace.
He said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you, I do not give you as the
world gives. Do not let your hearts be
troubled and do not be afraid.”
John 14:27
It would sometimes be so nice
to shut out the world, to be unable to hear the clamor and the noise. Sometimes we can do that for a time, but the
world continues to intrude. Where can we
go to get away from the feelings of unrest – only to God.
As I sit by my woodstove on a
cold, wintry night I see snow covering the windows. The wind is howling and whipping the
trees. It rattles the fire, and sparks
fly up in the stove. All around me a
white blizzard whirls, just like the snow globe you had as a child. But with this blizzard comes a small picture
of the peace Christ gives. I’m warm and
comfortable in front of my stove. It
warms my bones. It warms my heart. It’s beautiful to see and it continues in
spite of the wild world outside. God’s
peace is a peace in the midst of the storm.
It’s not dependent on what’s going on outside my heart.
In Luke 24, the writer tells us
about the time when Jesus was sleeping in the boat when the storm came up. The disciples were frightened – they thought
they were going to drown. They woke him
and He calmed the storm. God was in charge of the storm. He’s in charge of the storms in your life,
too. Go to Him. Ask his help.
He’ll calm your heart if you accept his peace.
“ I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
