Good Morning Gorgeous,

It’s a brand new day. A fresh new start. A new day to rise and release the storms of life back to Jesus.  A new day to call on the name of the Lord and ask Him to handle the parts that only He can.

The disciples experienced Jesus’s power to bring peace to the storm and they asked eachother, “Who is this that even the wind and waves obey Him?”

Who is this that can bring peace to your soul even while the storm around you still rages on?

Who is this that can quiet your mind and make your insides return to calm?

Who is this that when we pray can envelope us in warmth and drive away the tormenting thoughts?

Who is this Jesus?

Again, His name and what He would do for humanity was prophesied about long before His earthly birth. Isaiah told us a Son would be given to us and one of His names is Prince of Peace.

And when Jesus walked the earth as both fully human and fully God, He demonstrated how to live a life totally submitted to the Lord and receive the peace available to us even while we live in and through the storms of life.

Jesus is our peace. He is the place we can flee to to escape the fear, anxiety, and pressures that try to steal our peace.

Jesus is the giver of peace. He is the source of peace. He is peace. When we learn to abide in Him and stayed fixed on Him, we can receive the gift of peace that the world simply can’t offer. 

The world will give moments of fleeting happiness, counterfeit moments where everything feels good, things and routines that bring comfort, and patterns of behavior that numb pain. Some of these things that we do to feel better are good things and others are destructive, but Nothing the world has to offer will give long lasting, sustaining peace that isn’t moved by the storms of life.

If we go back to the question the disciples asked, “Who is this?” He IS the Prince of Peace. He is the ruler over peace and He gives it as a gift to the people who trust in Him.

When the disciples asked that question, they had just experienced a scary, life threatening storm that rocked their world. The winds were raging, the waves crashing, and it seemed as though they might lose everything.

Yet, their Master was asleep! He was modeling what we can do when we are in the will of God. When we are following the Lord wholeheartedly and completely, storms will come up. Don’t let anyone convince you that a storm means you aren’t following God or a storm means that He’s angry with you. The disciples were literally with Jesus, following Him close enough to be next to Him on a boat that He told them to get on. And the storms still came!  What He taught them was how to react to a storm. He was asleep knowing that He was in the will of the Father.

And then when the disciples woke Him up, He simply told the wind and the waves to stop and they did!

The disciples were so worked up and frightened by the storm that Jesus had a question for them…

And the disciples had a question back!

Who is this?!  

He is the Lord Himself, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, AND the Prince of Peace.

AND He chose to walk among men teaching us how to walk on earth empowered by a new level of Kingdom living. A way of life that the world can’t scare or bully with fear. A way of life that trusts in Jesus to give peace in even the most painful hours.

He promised a gift that the world can neither give nor take away! It’s basically untouchable by the happenings of life if we learn to receive it and guard it! It’s PEACE right from Heaven..

Jesus tells us that we will have trouble in this life, but not to worry because He has already overcome the world. He has already triumphed over EVERY enemy that can hurt us, even death! We don’t even have to fear dying when we place our hope and trust in Jesus because to die is gain! So if even death can’t triumph over us, then we have NOTHING to fear. So as the world screams on social media, news outlets, and such that we should be afraid of political unrest, division, pandemic outbreaks, the economy, supply issues, and more…… we don’t have to receive the spirit of fear.

Instead we can flee into the arms of Jesus and He can tell the winds and waves to, “Be still.”

How do we access His peace now amidst such scary times?

Keep our eyes fixed on Him and only Him! The scriptures say to not worry and to pray about everything, and then the peace of Christ will guard our hearts and minds.

I use worry as a reminder to pray. I use it as an alarm clock telling me to talk to Jesus. So when I worry, get anxious, am fearful, have bad thoughts, I pray. I take the thoughts and feelings and use them as alarm systems reminding me to run back to the Peace Giver. And He provides fresh doses of peace EVERY time.

When I am going through something particularly hard or very painful like trauma or loss, this looks like being in prayer almost all day. As I go about my day, I am talking to God all day.

I’ve experienced plenty of gut wrenching tragedy. The kind where getting out of bed physically hurts. But I can confidently say that even then, Jesus provided a steady stream of inner peace that could come from nowhere else on earth except a good, good Father who meets us in our hour of need and provides miraculously and generously all that we need or ask for!

If you are feeling anxious, fearful, sad, worried, or hurt, turn to Jesus and ask for His gift of peace that is greater than our human understanding.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Wow! We thank You and honor You today as the giver of Peace. Thank You for sending Jesus to show us how to live submitted to You and empowered by Your Holy Spirit. Show us how to access Your Peace and Guard it from the enemy who wants to devour it as fast as You give it to us. Teach us to stay so close to You that we are in perfect peace this Christmas Season and all year long.

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Blessings and His Peace unto you,

Vanessa Lynn