Looking Forward to Peace • Isaiah 8:20-9:7
By Sydney Charlton
Christmastime can become chaotic if we choose to buy into the culture’s prioritization of consumerism and overscheduling. If we aren’t careful, the most wonderful time of the year will become exhausting and upsetting. We become discontented and unsettled when we rush from one gathering to another and shop until we drop. The peace we desperately long for is not found in the busyness of a department store, nor is it found in checking dozens of items off a to-do list.
Peace is ours only through Christ! The Light of the World, Jesus Christ, came so we could know the perfect peace.
It doesn’t take much effort for a small child to become lost in a crowd and separated from their parents in a busy store during the holidays. The chaos of unbothered shoppers coupled with elaborate displays causes the small child to lose sense of their location when they first became separated from their loved ones, and they become overwhelmed with emotion.
Fear begins to cripple the small child as they wonder if they will be found. Everything is too much to bear, and they can’t see a way out of this situation on their own. Then, a kind store employee takes notice and offers solace. The child has been found, and peace begins to overshadow the fear that clouded the child’s thoughts. The employee takes the child by the hand and provides comfort until they find the child’s parents, who aren’t far from where they were separated. A wave of peace washes over the child as they are reunited with their parents.
Christ came to us! In a much more extravagant manner than a store employee can come to our aid, Jesus Christ came as the Light of the Word to show us the Way. Because of Him, difficult circumstances no longer leave us feeling like we are in the dark. We do not have to give way to fear because the Prince of Peace came to earth! Through Him, we can have peace in all circumstances.
Isaiah 8:20-22
The Fall caused the perfect peace known in the Garden of Eden to cease. Violence and strife became familiar. When Isaiah prophesied, the people understood humanity’s brokenness. They lived in it; they were acquainted with the dark. As Isaiah shared, he explained to the people that their lives would be marked by distress, darkness, and anguish, but peace and light could be theirs if they surrendered to God!
Just as when Isaiah prophesied, our world can seem bleak and hopeless. However, when we choose to look to God, we can see Him working on our behalf in all things (Romans 8:28). We can know peace in full because we know Christ!
Isaiah 9:1-5
The heaviness of life bears down on everyone during various seasons. Financial stress, medical concerns, or loss of employment are merely a few reasons why people are often wrapped in gloom. Though these circumstances, along with others, can weigh us down, for those in Christ — those of us who have seen a great light (v2) — we can have confidence in the peace of God. We may not know the resolution to the adversities we face, but we know that the Light of the World came on our behalf, which means we never have to walk in darkness (John 8:12, ESV).
Christ should be trusted and praised in our moments of sorrow and despair, as well as our moments of triumph and rejoicing. Because He came, the darkness caused by fear is cast out through His perfect love (1 John 4:18, ESV).
Isaiah 9:6-7
As the people listened to Isaiah’s prophecy, some must have thought, “How can peace for the world come through a child?” Anyone who has been around children knows that “peaceful” isn’t always an appropriate adjective used to describe a youngster. But this Child to Whom Isaiah was referring was like none other. Christ humbly came from Heaven, fully God yet clothed in flesh, to rescue humanity.
Jesus Christ came as the Light of the World, to illuminate our desperate need for a Savior. He came as the Prince of Peace, the only one Who can be our perfect peace amid every hardship known to mankind. He came that we would experience the wonder and awe that only comes in truly beholding Him as excellent and praiseworthy.
Christ, our Wonderful Counselor and Savior, came for us!
Charlton is the OneHope Missions Assistant at Crossgates Baptist Church, Brandon.
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