There's a piece of this Christmas, birth story of Jesus that is a bit unsettling and one that the answers lay shrouded.
We talk of peace on earth, and rightly so. The angels said, "Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace among men." Luke 2:14
What do we do with the result of Herod's reaction to feeling threatened? When he discovered he was duped by the wise men, he was worried that a young boy would take his throne so he had the little boys three and under killed.
Little ones lost their lives in the wake of Jesus' earthly arrival.
Peace on earth? That doesn't sound like peace.
We too, have things that happen that make no sense and we question the way of Jesus and what He is doing. We experience the loss of our loved ones. Rejection, trauma, and disappointments leave their mark. In the wake of men and women's fears, death and evil happens.
What do we do with all this?
What happens to us, may leave us wailing and with more questions than clarity.
But the greatest truth above any darkness is that in the darkness Jesus came. Peace came and still comes because Peace is a Person.
He wants us to know Him for who He is more than what He does and what happens to us. He wants to show us more of Himself. So often we turn away. The pain can be so great and the questions so tumultuous that in our human way of processing we can't make sense of it. We have a hard time connecting Jesus to the painfilled situation.
Learning to trust Jesus is a journey and process but it is what He wants us to learn, even in the darkness and when things don't make sense. He sees perfectly and understands the truest form and way to life.
Those mothers who wailed those nights long ago - I wonder what they would tell us if we could ask them about the night they lost their sons? What would they say to a heart holding grief that feels so unbearable?
For me, for you - He is still Immanuel, with us in whatever we walk through - the fire, the waters, with us in the pain and He wants us to know who He is.
Redeemer. Comforter. Counselor. Guide. And so much more.
Who is He to you, right now, in whatever you are facing and walking through? Maybe all you can cry out is, " Lord, help my unbelief." That's okay. That's the cry of faith that God wants to answer - learning to trust Him when it's the hardest to do so.
John 14:27 - "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."
Philippians 4:7 - And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
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