Second Sunday of Advent: Peace
"And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, 'Peace! Be still!' And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm" - Mark 4:39, ESV
My wife has an active ministry on Reddit, where she responds to those who are questioning their faith, or have questions about the Bible. She often shares with me the posts that she responds to, and one of the frequent themes I see by the original posters is the belief that once one becomes a Christian, then all troubles will stop. My wife will offer wise and pragmatic counsel, that while becoming a Christian can bring peace to our lives, it does not mean the absence of problems.
The Second Sunday of Advent focuses on Peace, the Peace of Christ. And in the scripture above we can see an example of His Peace in the calming of the storm. I think we can all say with certainty that we have weathered storms in our lives, and maybe you are going through a massive category 5 storm right now. Perhaps you feel like the waters are above your head, and the waves are threatening to capsize your life. While following the Living God does not mean that we will avoid the storm, it does mean that He is present with us, weathering the storm with us, just as He was in the boat with the Apostles. And maybe not today, but soon, that storm will be stilled by the Peace that only Christ can bring.
I invite you, no, I urge you, to find time this Advent season to be peaceful. Take just five minutes out of your day each day to be still. Don't look at your phone. Don't turn on the TV. Maybe even sit in darkness so that distractions can be at a minimum. But allow the Peace of Christ, which stilled the storm, still the troubled waters in your life.
Just a thought: as you go into this week, think of where you need Christ's peace in your life.
Follow John's Advent journey here on his blog, johnscoffeehouse.blogspot.com, or on Facebook, johnscoffeehouse.
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