Three Timely Truths We Desperately Need Today
I love Hallmark Christmas movies. I can imagine that, this year, Hallmark might air A Very COVID Christmas, where a newly single woman—who used to live in the big city and work for a huge company—moves back to her small hometown to sell the house she grew up in after the recent death of her mother . . . and then the pandemic hits!
While quarantined in her childhood home, she has meals delivered from her favorite local diner by a food delivery service. The delivery guy—a recently widowed and now single father who is just trying to make ends meet—captures her attention. After ordering the same meal for two months, they finally talk—while maintaining appropriate social distancing, of course—and more than a virus starts to break out.
In light of COVID-19, people can find extra joy this Christmas in being able to tell their in-laws, “We really wanted to have you all for Christmas, but because of this stupid virus, that’s just not going to work this year.”
And I wonder how many kids will say to their Grandma, “Thanks for the homemade mask.”
Regardless, as you read this, I hope there’s a chill in the air, that COVID-19 is diminishing, and that Christians still trust God regardless of who’s currently in the White House. And I certainly hope we’re in for a familiar, comforting, and peaceful Christmas—even if it is a very COVID Christmas.
I’m especially praying for peace this Christmas.
Peace in the face of a deadly virus.
Peace among divided families, friends, churches, and cities.
Peace for those who are facing financial and employment uncertainty.
Peace for those who are experiencing social injustice.
And peace for all who find themselves in the grips of depression, anxiety, and fear.
I pray that the Prince of Peace is incarnated wherever his peace is most needed this Christmas, because we are living in a time when we are in great need of peace.
The prophet Isaiah was called into ministry during just such a time, too.
Isaiah was probably a young man when God called him and gave him a chance to change the world.
Isaiah was a prophet of the Southern Kingdom, Judah. For 150 years prior to Isaiah’s time, the Assyrian Empire had been expanding and absorbing other nations. Tiglath-Pilesar came to the throne in 745 BC and continued to expand the empire by subjugating surrounding countries. Six years later, in 739 BC, Isaiah received his call as a prophet and responded, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8).
Isaiah was called to minister in an apparently hopeless situation. The people of Judah were spiraling deeper and deeper into sin and their hearts were hardened to Isaiah’s message. Judah was attacked by Assyria, 200,000 captives were taken into captivity, 46 walled cities were destroyed, and only a remnant remained in Judah—and they were persecuted. Isaiah endured lifelong Assyrian threats, witnessed his nation’s ruin, and saw his kings ignore his warnings and be defeated.
Isaiah lived in a world in desperate need of peace, which is why what he shared about Jesus is so relevant and important to us today.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this (Isaiah 9:6-7, English Standard Version).
This passage reveals three important and timely truths about peace.
God Wants Us to Have Peace
Isaiah prophesied, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given” (v. 6, emphasis mine).
God wants to give us peace this Christmas. You need to believe that, especially this year. God’s desire is not for you, or any of us, to live in a constant state of emotional, physical, financial, and spiritual turmoil. When God sent Jesus to this world, he really was sending us peace.
The people of Judah were facing actual war. They were suffering and they needed hope. So God, through Isaiah, made a promise to them . . . and it’s a promise for us, too. God promised that, at just the right time, his zeal for peace—and all things good—would be made manifest in a child who would be called “Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
I love that we don’t have to sit and watch one person, or a small group of people, open this amazing gift for themselves . . . because this gift of love and peace is for all of us!
Jesus Offers Us Unending Peace
Isaiah prophesied, “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:7). I saw that word end translated as, “at the end of an infinite process.”
As we all face what seem to be endless trials—viruses, storms, divisions, closures, layoffs, politics, financial problems, and no toilet paper—we must hold on to this truth the people of Judah were told to hang on to: the Prince of Peace gets the last word!
When the words the coronavirus are spoken for the last time, Jesus will still be saying and sharing Peace!
When the words social distancing are spoken for the last time, Jesus will still be saying and sharing Peace!
When, in the far-off future, the words pandemic, bankruptcy, divorce, abuse, cancer, human trafficking, social injustice, racism, murder, depression, anxiety, and fear are spoken for the last time, Jesus will still be saying and sharing, until the very last moment of infinity, Peace!
The Powerful Prince of Peace Cannot Be Stopped!
When the Lord, through his prophet, said, “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this” (v. 7), he meant that the powerful Prince of Peace cannot be stopped!
The promise of peace within those 10 words is so empowering. It’s an amazing gift we should all gladly receive this COVID Christmas!
Start by looking at the name he used here, “Lord of hosts.” It’s one of my favorite names for the Lord. It is a military title that reminds us the Lord commands armies of angels!
You and I have not been alone as we have faced trials in 2020, and we will not be alone as we stand against the trials we will most certainly face until we draw our last breaths. Standing with us—behind us, before us, and around us—are uncountable numbers of angels who all wage war on our behalf under the absolute power and authority of the Prince of Peace.
This is a promise we can depend on because it’s backed up by the “zeal” of the Lord. Peace is what the Lord wants . . . it’s his passion! He’s jealous and zealous for it, so peace is what the Lord will get . . . at just the right time.
As Isaiah prophesied, “[The Lord] will do this,” or more literally, “will perform this.” The feeling of the word used for do in the original language is what you’d say of a “doer of wonders” more so than just a “doer of deeds.” It’s as if Isaiah was introducing the most incredible miracle worker of all time (at just the right time) and wanted us to know that what we were about to see—what the Lord was about to “perform” in our midst—would be amazing and unstoppable!
And what the Lord “performed” in sending the Prince of Peace to bring peace to this broken world truly was wonderful. It was the best Christmas present we could ever receive this COVID Christmas . . . or any Christmas.
I didn’t really like the introduction but then, that’s me.
The peace Jesus brings is brought to those who seek him one at a time. We have to live as messengers of this peace so that Jesus, the true peacemaker, can be their peacemaker by making him their Lord and Christ. Do we show this peace? Do we inform others of this peace? Do we also invite them to know him so Jesus can also become their peace?