"PRINCE OF PEACE" 

Advent Devotional 4 - Week 2 
Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called -- Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

I made a decision a while back that since I live in one of the most beautiful places on earth and since I have a rugged beast of an 4x4 (my Ebay special), I was going to take advantage of exploring some of the unpaved roads of the forests nearby. I was not meant to just stay on the paved roads of life. Not much excitement and challenge there!

Not long ago I was up in Pisgah Forest, doing some of this random exploration, and came upon some waterfalls that I didn't even know existed. It had just been raining heavily in the county and the falls were absolutely busting at the seams with roaring water cascading over the rocks and down the mountain creek. I was mesmerized by the sound of the powerful rushing water. I parked the "Beast" up the road a ways and walked back to were I could see down into the gorge and hear the thunderous roar of the water pounding the rocks and pushing at the sides of the creek bed. I wanted to walk down the steep incline to the water's edge, but knew that as swift as the water was flowing, the volume of water smashing against the sides of the creek bed and as treacherous as the waterfall itself was, I did not have the gear to make that a safe descent. Sometimes age and the experience of past nasty falls vote in favor of wisdom.

So I sat down with camera in hand and began to reflect on the awesome power of God. Funny, it was a place of solitude, but it certainly wasn't a place of "quiet" solitude. And yet my mind settled in for some moments of deep reflection. I thought about that night, in "the fullness of time" that God chose to come down to this earth in the form of a human baby -- solely for our benefit -- for our salvation. I thought of how He came as the "Prince of Peace." 

Peace! Now there's a strange thing to be thinking about staring into a gorge at a raging waterfall! And yet, the more I listened to the roar of that waterfall, the more I sensed the POWER of peace ... the NOISE of peace ... the AWESOMENESS of His peace.

We often have such a misconception of true peace -- or what it takes to know peace. Perhaps part of that misconception comes as a result of our traditional thinking of that night in Bethlehem. You know, that night that the true Prince of Peace came into this world. We sing about it being a "silent night" and a "holy night." It was definitely a holy night, but nowhere in the Bible does it say that it was silent. In fact, in 1818 when Father Joseph Mohr wrote that infamous carol of Christmas, he wrote it in response to a faulty organ at St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, Austria. The songs planned for that Christmas Eve in 1818 were all scrubbed, thanks to that organ inconveniently going on the fritz! Hence, "Silent Night, Holy Night" was born.

However, that night in Bethlehem a couple of thousand years ago was probably anything but silent. No, I wasn't there, so I don't know for sure. However, I do know that the town of Bethlehem was swelling with thousands more people than usual, since Caesar's census was in full swing. That also meant thousands more animals (transportation and food) who would have been noisily annoyed by each other's presence, no doubt. Then there were certainly families coming together who hadn't seen each other for years, throwing feasts and parties, as the Hebrew customs and traditions would have dictated. And there were the angels, which led to the sounds of excited shepherds clambering about the angels as they searched for the babe in a manger and, of course, their sheep bleating as they went..... WOW! How could there be silence?

What about a mother on the verge of giving birth? Silence? I think not! And then there was a father who is scurrying around the stable, noisily urging grumpy animals to move as he frantically tried to find whatever was available to make his lady as comfortable as possible for the miracle that was about to occur. Silence? No way! And yet, before the night was through, there was to be a supernatural sense of peace, even in that frenetic scene of an un-silent night. And did the Babe come into this world without making a sound? Think about it. He IS the Lion of Judah!

Yes, it is good to find a place of quiet solitude often -- away from the noise and bustle of daily responsibilities and "the grind." A place where reflection and prayer come much easier is a good discipline to practice. But never forget, Jesus didn't come to this world to only provide peace when you are away from the noise. He came into a noisy world that was yelling, cursing and pushing all the wrong vehicles of man-made and man-governed peace. Yes, even into this noisy world came the Lion of Judah. And when He roared, "TETELESTAI," 

"It is finished!" 

"Paid in full!"

There came a peace that passes all understanding. And it's that peace that is with you wherever you are as a Jesus-follower. From the noisy, busy world of survival, to the place of solitude and reflection. Be aware of the presence of the Lion of Judah wherever your day takes you. Just as the powerful roar of the falls brought me to reflect on the power of His peace, you too may find that hearing His awesomeness roar is even more peaceful for you today than hearing nothing at all.

"The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "God with us").    - Matthew 1:23