A Hard Fought Hallelujah - Week 5
Week 5 Recap:
The Peace We Long For
Introduction
Christmas comes with beauty, tradition, and joy, but it also comes with noise. Calendars fill up, expectations rise, and patience often runs thin. Even the best moments can begin to feel heavy. In the middle of all the movement, we hear the familiar promise of peace on earth, yet peace can feel distant and unreachable. Scripture reminds us that peace does not arrive when life finally settles down. Peace arrives right in the middle of the chaos.
When Life Feels Loud and Overwhelming
The season after Christmas often brings exhaustion. Decorations come down, routines return, and the weight of everything we carried begins to settle in. Even good things can overload the mind and heart. Frustration grows when life feels nonstop and unrelenting. Peace is talked about, sung about, and hoped for, yet it feels missing. This tension is not new. God’s people have always wrestled with how to find peace when their world feels unstable.
God Speaks Peace Into Chaos
The book of Micah speaks to a people facing real fear and uncertainty. They are not overwhelmed by shopping lists or holiday schedules. They are bracing for invasion. Their security feels fragile, and the world around them appears to be breaking apart. In that moment, God does not offer a strategy or a political solution. God offers a promise. Peace is not found in power or protection but in a person who is coming. God does not wait for calm to return before sending peace. Peace is sent straight into the chaos.
God Works Through What the World Overlooks
Bethlehem is small, overlooked, and unimpressive by worldly standards. It is not a place that suggests rescue or significance. Yet God chooses it as the birthplace of hope. This reveals a consistent truth about how God works. God often brings His greatest work through what seems insignificant. Peace does not begin with control or perfection. Peace begins with trust. If God can bring salvation from a small town, He can bring peace into a small and weary heart.
Waiting Is Not Wasted
Waiting stretches faith and exposes fear. Silence can feel like abandonment, and delay can feel like denial. Scripture shows that waiting is purposeful. God often does His deepest work in quiet seasons before anything changes on the surface. What feels like delay is often preparation. Peace grows when trust replaces anxiety. God is still present even when answers are not immediate. Waiting is never wasted when God is at work.
Peace Comes From the Shepherd Who Stands With Us
Peace does not come from systems, plans, or human strength. Peace comes from a shepherd who stands with His people. A shepherd knows the flock, walks with them, and cares for them personally. Peace is not rooted in ease or comfort. Peace is rooted in presence. Human strength fades, but God’s strength does not. Peace endures not because life is calm, but because God is near. Peace is not something to be achieved. Peace is someone to be received.
Closing
Peace is not the absence of problems. Peace is the presence of Christ. Even when answers are unclear and tension remains, peace is possible because our souls are anchored in Him. Life may still feel loud, but peace stands with us in the noise.
