Luke 2:14 NIV “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
This is the second week of Advent, when we light the candle of peace. This isn’t peace as in ending every war or resolving every conflict—spoken or unspoken. It is the inner peace of a spirit at rest, no longer spinning with angst or anger. It is the peace of being fully present in the moment despite the chaos around us. Especially this season, that kind of peace feels almost impossible to create or maintain on our own.
When Isaiah declared that a child would be born and called the Prince of Peace, he was pointing to one of the great gifts Christ brings through His birth. Peace is a supernatural gift, not something we muster through our own effort or collect through self-help strategies. We cannot light enough scented candles to summon peace, no matter how long they burn.
So, where do we find peace when it can’t be manufactured? We find it in the face of God reflected in Christ. In Chronicles, the Lord says, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14 NIV).
Before Christ, humanity could not see the face of God. But with His birth, we could look into the eyes of God incarnate and receive the peace we longed for. And who among us does not know the quiet awe of holding a newborn, tiny breaths rising and falling, their gaze fixed on ours, when time slows, and peace settles like a holy hush?
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you” (John 14:27 NIV). His promise remains, and His peace is a gift for frayed souls, for fragile hearts, for hurting homes.
And if you don’t have a newborn to hold, hold this image: yourself cradling the infant Jesus and gazing into the face of God. Receive His peace—supernatural, unearned, steady—as your gift today.
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