The Names of the Lord - The Prince of Peace
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and thegovernment shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be calledWonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, ThePrince of Peace. - Isaiah 9:6
Peace is defined as "freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility; stillness." Is it just me, or does that seem like a foreign concept these days? As I type this post, it is less than a week before Christmas, the time of peace on earth, good will toward men. Yet, I can only shake my head as I read horror after horror of just how mean, hateful and selfish mankind has become.
I read the story of a woman who pepper-sprayed over twenty people on Black Friday because she wanted to "beat the line" to get to the great deal on an X-box. A few days later, I heard the tale of a woman who was stabbed to death at a local Wal-mart. News footage shows evidence of the sad state of men's hearts as people fight one another with a "me first" attitude. Good grief! No deal is worth hurting another individual. What is wrong with people?
The world, as a whole, is missing peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Without Him, peace does not exist. I can have peace in my heart because Jesus resides within me, but as I mingle out and about in the world, I find it more and more difficult to remember that the peace is there. Additionally, in the hustle and bustle of everyday activities, I struggle to find time to seek peace.
It's no accident that the words "be still" are in the Bible. We are commanded to "be still" and know that God is God. The only way we can do that is to step away from the chaos and determine in our hearts that we will be still and quiet for a period of time. We all need that time, and I believe it would be much easier to find peace the rest of the time if we would set aside some time to become reacquainted with the Prince of Peace. The One who spoke peace to the storm can speak peace into our lives as well. We need only to allow Him to perform His work.