The Advent Adventure- 12 Days to Christmas: Peace That Imbues Calm
“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:10 NIV
It is the happiest time of the year, and I hope you are feeling that way. Despite all of the Christmas movies and holiday songs playing, many of us don’t feel all too jolly. We are overwhelmed with unease and a sense of urgency. There seem to be too many things on the checklist and not enough elves to help. We have food to buy, presents to wrap, halls to deck, parties to go to, lights to see, hot cocoa to sip, and the list could go on seemingly forever. And that’s not even checking it twice! Everyone around us is moving at a breakneck pace, and this pace is particularly amplified during the holiday season. Keeping up with the latest trends, the newest show to watch, a light show to see, a recipe to bake, or a style to follow is a full-time job and leaves no room for rest. Busy schedules lead to busy hearts, leaving no room for the Prince of Peace.
We have, in many ways, been sold a lie. The more you do, the more complete you will be. If you can get all the cleaning, cooking, partying, giving, reading, sightseeing, and social gatherings done, you will be more complete. But this only leaves us feeling more empty and less fulfilled. The way to get the MOST out of this Advent Adventure is by doing less. We see in Psalm 46:10 that knowing God is related to our stillness. The more still we are, the bigger the scope we have to witness who God is and be filled with his Peace.
Our checklist may even include noble things like Christmas Eve service, prayers, food drives, and bible reading, and yet, we can still be bogged down with too many things and feel fatigued. These things are still highly commendable, but there is no peace until we surrender to The Lord of Peace, Jesus. We must begin to follow His example in how he lived. We see in Luke 5:16 that “… Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” It might be hard to think of the last time you were alone with God. Not just by yourself but alone with God. There is a subtle difference. We can be by ourselves shopping, cleaning, cooking, or scrolling on our phones, but being alone requires a pause in our schedule, mind, and heart. For us to be alone, we cannot be in a crowded mall or on a busy phone. We have to be still in God’s presence.
Stillness before God is extremely difficult because we can begin to feel like we are wasting time. A reminder: you are not. Taking 20 minutes out of our day and fixing our thoughts on God with no other distractions can feel like it yields no results. A strong reminder: it does. When we sit before the God of Peace, He begins to imbue that Peace onto us. The second part of Psalm 46:10 shows that God will be exalted. We have no choice in the matter. We can choose to participate or not; He will be exalted either way.
This Advent, our prayer is that you will find Peace. There is nothing to add to your schedule or day-to-day checklist to obtain this. Rather, there are probably things you need to skip or take off so that you can finally be at Peace. Remember that the fullness of God chose to come to this Earth, not as a warrior king, full and mighty, but rather as a baby that needed time to grow and mature—years to develop into His calling. We must follow in the adventure to grow into peace. It will take time, and it will take doing less.
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.