ODJ: prince of peace
November 3, 2013
READ: Isaiah 9:2-7
In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe (Psalm 4:8).
While walking through a shop, my friend’s 12 year old daughter commented on a magazine cover about the December 2012 mass shooting that tragically killed 20 children and 6 adults at a primary school in America. Her 6 year old brother didn’t know much about the heartbreaking event, but he looked up at his mum and said, “I think my favourite name for Jesus is Prince of Peace.” “Me too,” my friend replied. “Me too.”
In the wake of unfathomable evil, we long for “the Lord of peace Himself” who offers us “His peace at all times and in every situation” (2 Thessalonians 3:16). When peace seems evasive, as it did for Job when he lamented, “I have no peace, no quietness. I have no rest; only trouble comes” (Job 3:26), we yearn, as author Rebekah Lyons wrote, for “the realisation that mourning brings comfort, that above all, there is a God waiting to rescue in our darkest hour.”
Beautifully, our rescuer, our truest source of tranquillity in a troubled world, was given to us in the form of a child. “For a Child is born to us, a Son is given to us. The government will rest on His shoulders. And He will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
Through Jesus Christ, we can experience peace, for “He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of His ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” (v.7).
Cry out to the Lord when your heart is broken. Lean into His love and let Him bring you comfort in times of mourning and peace in the difficult times.
The Prince of Peace is your true source of peace. —Roxanne Robbins
How did a woman’s faith in Mark 5:34 lead her to a place of peace?
Dwell on a time you saw someone experience peace from the Lord in the midst of a difficult time. What can you learn about God’s peace from his or her example?
