Advent 2025 Peace

The Christmas season creates a unique tension in our lives as we celebrate Christ's birth while managing the stress of shopping, parties, and endless obligations. This busyness often robs us of the very peace we should be experiencing during this holy season. The world defines peace as the absence of conflict and teaches us to avoid difficult conversations or controversial topics to maintain harmony. However, this approach is fundamentally flawed because it seeks peace through avoidance and isolation, ultimately driving people away from meaningful relationships.God's definition of perfect peace, found in Isaiah 26:3, is radically different: perfect peace comes to those who trust in God and fix their thoughts on Him, regardless of circumstances. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, didn't come to give us worldly peace but to make true peace possible through His death and resurrection. There are three types of biblical peace we can experience: peace with God through justification by faith, peace with others that doesn't depend on their behavior toward us, and peace with ourselves by accepting God's grace for our past mistakes and failures.The key to experiencing perfect peace is shifting our focus from trying to control outcomes to trusting God's sovereign purposes. When we fix our thoughts on Jesus rather than on our problems, we discover that perfect peace isn't the absence of problems but the presence of God in the midst of our difficulties. This Advent season offers us the opportunity to practice this perfect peace by remembering both Christ's first coming and anticipating His return.