Lacking Peace?
Why is peace the last thing we feel at Christmas?
Shouldn’t this be the time of year we experience the most peace? Yet somehow, we’ve turned everything upside down, and instead of peace, we feel hurried and worried. We feel burdened and burned out.
But what if this Christmas, what if today, you could feel a little peace?
Every year about this time, I hear this song at some point. It’s called “Let There Be Peace on Earth.”
It was written in 1955. At that time, the world was still reeling from the devastation of World War II and the anxiety of the emerging Cold War. Nations were rebuilding, families were fractured, and fear of nuclear conflict hung in the air. Against that backdrop, a husband-and-wife songwriting team, Sy and Jill Jackson-Miller, wrote a simple yet powerful song of hope.
Jill, who had once experienced deep despair and had even attempted to take her own life at one point, found true peace and hope in God’s unconditional love. Out of that personal peace came this song — a prayer that peace in the world must begin in the human heart:
Let there be peace on earth
and let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on earth,
the peace that was meant to be.
With God as our Father,
brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brother
in perfect harmony.
We know that true peace, Biblical peace, doesn’t begin with human effort—it begins with God reconciling sinners to Himself. But when this song was first sung by a group of young people at a retreat, something extraordinary happened — because of their desire for peace, differences of race, religion, and background seemed to fade. The song quickly spread, becoming an anthem for unity in a divided world.
Gos Is Still At Work
Fast forward 70 years… The world we live in today, in 2025, isn’t so different than 1955.
Our world is still marked by division and polarization, by contention and uncertainty. This past year has been difficult in many ways for many people. If I were to begin and list all the things that happened in our world just over the last twelve months I think we would all feel anything but peace! We would feel the weight, the anxiety, the angst, the fear, the anger, and all the other powerful feelings that rise up within us when we think back over all the difficult things that have come our way this past year.
We live in a world that is lacking peace.
But what I want to suggest is that we don’t have to lack peace.
We live in a world that is lacking peace.
But there is a way to experience peace. Real peace. And what’s more, to become people of peace.
The world Jesus was born into was not a world at peace.
In fact, it was anything but peaceful. Herod the Great was in power, but ask any Jew, and they would tell you, he wasn’t so great. He was a puppet king put in place by Rome, and his allegiance wasn’t to the Jewish people; it was to Rome, and everybody knew it.
Jerusalem was ruled by a Roman governor. Roman soldiers were everywhere, occupying the land. Roman crosses lined Roman roads. Roman taxes were crushing what little economy the people had. Yet faith in God remained.
Not only did faith in God remain, the people of God were a patient people. Some say it had been four hundred years since there had been a word from God, a prophet from God. That over the last 400 years, God had been silent. In one sense, that was true. But ask anyone who had kept the faith, and they would tell you that God was always at work.
They had seen Him at work in different ways, through different people. They could tell you the stories of old, how God had parted the waters to deliver the people from the hand of Egypt as Moses led them through the Red Sea.
And they could tell you more recent stories from their history of how the Maccabees had kicked out the pagans, cleansed the Temple, and lit the lamp with what little oil they had, yet somehow, by God’s grace, the lamp miraculously stayed lit for eight days. The light of God that had led them as a fire by night out of Egypt had never left them. The light of God filled the Temple, and they were reminded again that God is still with them.
Everything around them points to chaos and confusion, but everything within them reminds them that God is still at work.
A Priest who Lacked Peace
At this time, there was a priest named Zechariah who was serving God in the Temple. He had gone into the Temple to burn the incense, which was his job. At the same time, people have gathered outside the Temple to pray.
The people are praying, Zechariah is burning the incense, and then an angel appears. Zechariah sees the angel and is seized with fear.
The angel tells him,
Luke 1.13-25
13 “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”
For Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, this is Good News! It’s actually double Good News!
First, they’re going to have a child… something they had prayed about for decades. They had always wanted a child. And now, Zechariah is getting a direct message from God — It’s happening!
Second, their child is going to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord, the coming of the Son of God! What they’ve been praying for and waiting for is finally coming to pass. This is such Good News, Zechariah can’t believe it. Literally, he doesn’t believe it.
18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”
Instead of being filled with faith in this moment, Zechariah is filled with fear. Instead of having a heart filled with hope, he’s filled with hesitation and doubt. The angel can’t believe that Zechariah can’t believe what he’s telling him!
19 Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! 20 But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”
Zechariah’s doubt and fear, lack of faith, and inability to trust the word of God in this moment comes with consequences. Since the only words he could speak were words of doubt, now he won’t be able to speak at all until his child is born. God disciplines His doubt.
Nine Months of Silent Nights
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. 22 When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary.
23 When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. 24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. 25 “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”
Elizabeth is overjoyed. God has done for her what only God could do for her. She praises God for His goodness, His kindness, and His faithfulness. Zechariah can’t speak, and what few details Elizabeth has learned from him point to an encounter with God. She knows, whatever is happening right now, God is at work. He is at work in this moment. He is at work in Zechariah’s silence. He is at work in a mysterious and miraculous way.
For five months, she goes into seclusion. For nine months, Zechariah has gone into silence. And then, this happens…
Luke 1.57-64
57 When it was time for Elizabeth’s baby to be born, she gave birth to a son. 58 And when her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone rejoiced with her.
59 When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. 60 But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John!”
61 “What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.” 62 So they used gestures to ask the baby’s father what he wanted to name him.
Now this is interesting. It seems that not only can Zechariah not speak, he also may not be able to hear. They use gestures, maybe an ancient form of sign language, to gesture, to communicate with Zechariah! They’re trying to ask him about his son, “What is his name?”
Unable to communicate, Zechariah has to shift gears…
63 He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.
After nine months of silence, Zechariah speaks! His first words fulfill the command of the Lord to name his son John! His next words are words of praise!
Everyone who was there that day was filled with awe and wonder. Everyone knew that whatever was happening, God was with them and God was at work.
And then, after nine months of silence, after naming his son and giving God praise, Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, began to prophesy! (v65-67)
The Priest Becomes a Prophet
After 400 years of silence from God, God speaks through his prophet, the priest Zechariah!
Luke 1.68-79
68 “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has visited and redeemed his people.
69 He has sent us a mighty Savior
from the royal line of his servant David,
70 just as he promised
through his holy prophets long ago.
71 Now we will be saved from our enemies
and from all who hate us.
72 He has been merciful to our ancestors
by remembering his sacred covenant—
73 the covenant he swore with an oath
to our ancestor Abraham.
74 We have been rescued from our enemies
so we can serve God without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness
for as long as we live.
76 “And you, my little son,
will be called the prophet of the Most High,
because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
77 You will tell his people how to find salvation
through forgiveness of their sins.
This prophecy, this word from God that breaks the silence of the past 400 years, it isn’t just about John. It isn’t just about Zechariah’s son. It’s about God’s Son!
And this prophecy points to a coming day when the people of God will experience something they haven’t experienced in a very long time, something they haven’t experienced since they first lived in the promised land: PEACE.
God speaks through Zechariah…
78 Because of God’s tender mercy,
the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us,
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
and to guide us to the path of peace.”
The land they were living in was anything but peaceful.
The world was in a constant state of chaos and confusion.
The people of God felt lost, alone, and unsure about the future.
400 years have come and gone with no real sign that things are ever going to change.
But then, something happened. It started in the Temple where the light of God is still lit.
An angel appeared, a message from God was delivered, a new silence ensued, a son was promised, a son was born, and another Son is on the way who will lead God’s people, God’s people who have patiently waited, to the path of PEACE.
Ready for Peace?
Are you ready to experience a little peace?
The land we’re living in is anything but peaceful.
The world is in a constant state of chaos and confusion.
As the people of God, we too sometimes feel lost, alone, and unsure about the future.
But today, we’re reminded that something happened. It started some 2000 years ago with a voice that broke through the silence and the promise of a child.
An angel appeared, a message from God was delivered, a son was promised, a son was born, the Son of God who takes away the sin of the world.
God’s people who have patiently waited can now see the light, the way, the path of PEACE.
Are you ready to experience a little peace?
In 1914, World War I was raging. German soldiers were fighting the British army across Western Europe. It was December. It was cold. Conditions were horrendous to be outside, much less living and surviving in makeshift trenches and tents while waging a war.
Between the German camp and the British camp was a space called “No Man’s Land.” Nobody went into No Man’s Land. That’s where soldiers died. That’s where bullets fly. Nobody goes into No Man’s Land because nobody comes back from No Man’s Land. It’s not safe. It’s the antithesis of peace. It’s the place of war.
But it’s December. And something happened on December 25, 1914, that found its way into the pages of history because it was so unexpected, so strange, so unusual. For a few hours on December 25, 1914, soldiers from both sides called a TRUCE.
They laid their weapons down. They came together in No Man’s Land. Enemies became friends. People from different places who spoke different languages became neighbors. They started singing Christmas carols together. They even traded small gifts. Then somebody found a ball, and a soccer game started.
A time of war was transformed not by a treaty, not by those in power, not because anything had changed, but because, for an afternoon, a group of soldiers decided to be people of peace. The hostile battleground became a field of hospitality.
They found the path of peace when they remembered the peace of Christmas.
What they experienced for a few hours is what Jesus offers fully and finally through His redemption at the cross!
Real Peace
The Good News is that the peace Jesus offers isn’t just a ceasefire. It’s not a break from the battle. His peace, biblical peace, the peace of Jesus, is more than a temporary suspension of conflict.
Real peace is making things the way they were always supposed to be. It’s “universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight – a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights. Shalom, God’s peace, is the way things ought to be.” – Cornelius Plantinga Jr.
Today, with Christmas only a few days away, can I invite you to experience PEACE?
How do you experience this kind of peace? Especially at Christmas.
The way to experience the peace of God is to come to know the Peace of God.
The path of peace is the way of the redeemed.
If you want to experience the peace of God, if you want to walk on the path of peace of God, then take time every day to walk with God. Let that same light that led the people of God out of Egypt lead you out of whatever darkness you’re in today. Let that same light that lit the Temple light up your heart and life. And let Jesus, the Light of the World, be the light that guides you on the path of peace as you walk with Him.
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