by Rev Douglas Brauner
Yes, Peace Is Possible Even in December
You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.
“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”
Isaiah 26:3 New Living Translation
The irony of this season is that when we contemplate peace we find very little of it in our daily schedules. There’s a good chance that there’s more ink on your December calendar than any other month. I would guess that many, if not most, of those ink spots are MUST do activities not GET to.
- The obligatory business Christmas/holiday party
- Christmas shopping
- Christmas decorating
- Christmas…(you fill in the blank)
It’s not that we don’t enjoy these activities or that we didn’t look forward to them when we set up our calendars, but as each December day passes there is more and more reluctance to do those things we’ve scheduled.
The calendar rules us not the other way around.
How did this season get so messed up? Maybe it’s because we’ve forgotten what this season is all about, and I’m not talking about Christmas. I’m talking about Advent.
We’re not in the Christmas season yet. That begins on Christmas Day. We’re in Advent. The season of Advent is intended to be a season of reflection not a time of tail chasing. It’s intended to be a time for us to breathe, to contemplate who we are in the face of our ever-loving God. It’s intended to be a time for us to get excited that God has done something about our sinful condition.
It’s time to get ready for the baby, not just any baby, but THE baby. The infant who would take everything that destroys peace and nail it to his cross. The baby who would leave us with his peace, a peace that not even this busy time of year can take away from us.
May you experience God’s peace this Advent as you once again wait for this baby to be born…for you!
Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
This is the first Advent season where I’m not so bogged down because I truly did make the conscious decision to enjoy what this time is for. It has been an amazing 5 days so far…the look of glee on my daughter’s face as we put the nativity scene up…her reminding me “Hey, we’ve still got to do the Advent devotion.” I am being truly blessed & enjoying this time with Him. Thank you for that reminder, Pastor!