When the angels announced Jesus’s birth to the shepherds that very first Christmas, they joyfully announced peace on earth. But in our 21st century version of Christmas, you’d be hard pressed to find that original peace announced to us. But it is still here—we just have to be intentional about living it out. Here are 4 ways we can live out the peace that Christ brought us this season.

  1. Write out your to-do list, to-buy list or event list. Prayerfully consider what God would have you take off. God’s voice in our hearts invites us to live in peace, calm and stillness. For most of us in America, we can live more fully into God’s leading by setting intentional boundaries on our time and money.
  2. Along with the first one, another way we can live out the peace of Christ is by embracing our own limits. The mystery of Christ is that he is both fully God and fully human, which means he had human limitations. In the Gospels we see Christ get tired, stressed, and hungry, grow in grace and knowledge, and eventually die. Being also fully God, he performed miracles, raised the dead and rose from the dead himself. But when we see the Savior napping on a wild boat ride, weeping at the death of his friend, and eating with friends on a beach, we can rest in the knowledge that he understands our weaknesses and know that he is inviting us to rest in him.
  3. When you start to feel stressed, anxious, rushed or irritated, take a moment to ask yourself: What or who is rushing me forward right now? Will this next thing that I’m stressing about really matter in a week, a month, a year? Why am I choosing this? We don’t like to think that we are choosing our stress, but many times we are responsible for our own un-peace. Taking a few minutes to ask yourself why you made the choices you did today can help give clarity to your motivations. It can also help us accept and live in the moment. I made this particular choice and I am accepting the consequences of that choice, be it less sleep, more time traveling, less time at home, etc. We can then make different choices next time if we want to.
  4. A final way we can live out the peace of Christ this season is by embracing the “already-not-yet-ness” of Christmas. Christmas is the celebration of God becoming man, joining us in our humanity, and ultimately bringing us to himself through his death and resurrection. Christmas reminds us that Christ has come and is coming again! He is here with us but is also coming back to rule and reign. The Kingdom is both here and is coming! Remembering this ultimate “why” is the best way to stay and live in the peace of Christ.

Intentionality is the starting ground to seeking and finding the peace of Christ this season. We at HopeNet wish you a happy Christmas and hope that you will live well in the peace of Christ this year. If you would like to start meditating on how to make 2020 a more peaceful, thoughtful and healthier year, check out our 2020 10 Day Reset and Recharge Journal!