What it means to have Peace in Jesus

Photo by Spencer Selover

Christmas season is usually painted as a time of fun and relaxation as family and friends enjoy festivities and traditions leading up the 25th. As a child, my only trouble around Christmas time was trying to find the right gifts for my parents and friends. But for many people, Christmas is far from a time of peace and joy. I remember last December when I was preparing for my wedding, preparing to move, studying for my college finals, and dealing with the news of my dad being diagnosed with stage 3 heart failure. While I was more than grateful to get married soon, the accumulating burdens felt less like Christmas season than the most stressful time of the year. But last December opened my eyes to the fact that the Christmas season is not so joyful and peaceful for many, and most likely this includes you, dear reader. Perhaps you are a student with intimidating finals, you are struggling to afford gifts for your growing family, you have a loved one who is fighting a chronic illness, you are worried you will spend Christmas day alone, or Christmas day is only a painful reminder of the loved ones you have lost. You already know what Christmas is about, dear Christian friends, but this Christmas season, I want to remind us of the transcending peace we have in Christ our Savior, our Prince of Peace.

Jesus the Prince of Peace

When we think about who Jesus is and what He has done for us, we can come up with many titles and names to describe our One true Lord. Some of the great, summarizing titles of Jesus are shared in the famous Isaiah 9:6:

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of course, Christian teachings rightly focus on the deity of Jesus (the fact that He is God), His guidance and counseling, and His inseparable connection to God the Father in the trinity. Yet in this passage, of all the titles, the prophet Isaiah chooses to expand on Jesus’s title as the Prince of Peace, so he continues:

Of the increase of his government and of peace

there will be no end,

on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

to establish it and to uphold it

with justice and with righteousness

from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 9:7)

It is not an unknown, malicious, impersonal being who is our King, but a perfect, righteous, holy, just, merciful, and loving God. What a comfort this already is! And those who submit to the Lordship of Christ, who are in the kingdom of God, will eternally experience His peace. In a fallen world, we will experience great worldly troubles. The world tries to explain all the self-care routines and hobbies we can do to experience peace, but it never lasts. There is only One source of lasting, life-changing, and sufficient peace. How can there be true, lasting peace only found in Christ?

How Christ Gives us Peace

When we consider the shortness of life on earth and the eternity of heaven or hell after death, it is clear that our greatest trouble is our sin that separates us from God. The bills we cannot pay, the illness that will not heal, the finals that have yet to be graded, though all trials in themselves, are incomparable to the greatest trouble of being an enemy of God. To be an enemy of God means that death is rightly to be feared, for it will only bring the just punishment we are due for our crimes against the King. Yet God, in His mercy, has provided a way for us to be reconciled to Him through the sacrifice of Jesus (John 3:16). He is our only hope of passing from death to life rather than from death to eternal death because of the crimes of our sins, for “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). God’s free, gracious gift to us is Christ and life that can only be found in Him.

Whether you were saved early on in childhood or just a few weeks ago in adulthood, the moment that you repented of your sins and confessed Jesus as Lord is the most important moment in your life. Because of God’s mercy to open your eyes, the trajectory of your entire life from then to eternity changed. Dear friend, “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). He is the Prince of Peace because He has delivered you from the greatest trouble, and He has given you an eternal family in the kingdom of God.

How Peace in Christ Transcends All Worldly Troubles

Not only is He the Prince of Peace because of His work in salvation, but also because He is the good and sovereign One who reigns over our lives. But if God is good and has ordained the events in our lives, the question we as humans tend to ask is, “Then why do I still have trouble in my life?” Perhaps you are like me and try to do as much as possible when stressed to take your mind off of the problem. Maybe the fears of your life take over your mind and leave you paralyzed. Or maybe you try to ignore the troubles while pushing on in life, but they still weigh heavy on your heart in each passing moment. These troubles we experience are the result of living in a world influenced by human beings who do not want to live in the Creator’s design. Know this, that Christ is not an escape from our earthly troubles - He is greater than any of our troubles. Our King is not helpless to save us, and He does not watch our lives fall to shambles on the sidelines. Jesus explained this to His disciples:

Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:32-33)

Jesus did not say our troubles would go away because we would live a life of comfort, convenience, and perfect health. In fact, He promises that we will have tribulation. The comfort He offers to His followers as He prepares them for the troubles ahead of them is that it is not up to us to overcome and remove our troubles. The comfort is resting in what Jesus has already done for us and what He can do through us. In our weakness, we have an opportunity to glorify God as we rely on Him for the supernatural strength and joy we need to get through each day. The Lord has said: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I [including you and I] will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Dear friend, in our weakness, the power of Him who has conquered sin, death, and the whole world, dwells within us. Do not rest on your own strength or some worldly distraction to bring you peace, but go to the One who has conquered all troubles, who is sovereign and in authority to successfully work all things together for good for those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). He will keep us steady, and hold us fast to the very end. “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22).

Our Peace is From Christ

The Bible is not filled with people who have an easy, wealthy, care-free life. In fact, many wrote God’s inspired Word as they were being hunted for their lives or had just lost their dearest friends and family. Paul was unjustly sitting in prison when he wrote this passage to the church in Philippi:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7)

To the world, it is sheer lunacy for a man in Paul’s situation to encourage others to rejoice and be free from anxiety. Yet, for those who are in Christ, we know what he speaks of. It is the peace that though it might not remove earthly troubles from our lives, transcends above them to the heavens where Jesus resides. It is the peace knowing that all burdens can be cast on the Lord, and that nothing will take us away from the incredible, overwhelming joy of being known, loved, and forgiven by our King. Christmas is not always a season of rest and peace. But know this, dear friends, whatever season we are in, we will always have the Prince of Peace.

The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

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