Saturday in the Word (Special Edition) | ADVENT 2025 Guest Post by Bridget A. Thomas

This is the second of two ADVENT2025 Guest Posts written by my fellow Christian blogger and author, Bridget A. Thomas.

You can read her first guest post here.

The Prince of Peace

I think we all can agree that life is stressful. The level of stress might fluctuate, depending on the season of life we are in. However, no matter where we are in life, there is almost always something that brings us stress or worry.

And the holidays add another layer of stress. They should be a time of joy. But we all know that often times the holidays add more tasks to our to-do lists.

It doesn’t have to be this way, though. The advent season is all about Jesus. And something that we are reminded of as we focus on Jesus, is that He came so that we can have peace.

This peace has a twofold impact in our lives. First, Jesus came so that we would have peace with God. We were far from God, until we accepted Jesus into our hearts. This allowed us to have a relationship with Him, and experience peace with Him.

Around this time of year we often hear Isaiah 6:9 (KJV) quoted: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

In this verse it says that Jesus is the Prince of Peace. We might have heard those words “the Prince of Peace” so many times that we don’t always feel its impact. However, when we stop and consider those words, we see how incredible they are. Jesus’ main goal on this earth was to bring peace between God and His children.

And it gets better! Our relationship with Jesus can also bring us peace with all the worries we face in life. When we spend time with Jesus and learn to lean on Him, we grow more and more in that peace.

It says in Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV), “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

These verses start off by telling us to not be anxious about anything. That is a tough one. We might scoff at that, because we know life brings an array of things to be anxious about. However, when we keep reading, it helps us to understand exactly how we can make the choice to not be anxious. We are told “in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” No matter what issue we are facing, we can bring it to God in prayer.

And don’t miss these two words tucked in there – “with thanksgiving.” We can seek God with thanksgiving when we seek Him in prayer because we know He hears all of our prayers and He is working on our behalf.

When I have worries weighing on me, I find comfort in the words found in Psalm 17:6: “I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.”

The verses in Philippians go on to say that when we seek God with the things that are weighing on us, “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Why does it say that the peace of God surpasses all understanding? Because when we know deep within that the Almighty God of the universe is on our side, we can face impossible situations with peace. Other people might look at us and not understand how we can have peace. But our trust in the Lord forms that peace inside of us. We know that He is always with us, and He is in control. This takes the weight off of our shoulders, as we remind ourselves that He is fighting our battles.

And I love the final part of these verses where it says “the peace of God … will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Our hearts and minds are where our stressors have an impact. Our minds have a tendency to cycle over the things that we are worried about. And our hearts take a toll from all the worry and stress. However, when we seek God’s help with our struggles, we gain an extraordinary gift. His peace will guard our hearts and minds.

I don’t know about you, but I certainly could use more peace. As we approach Christmas (and beyond), I pray that we can hold onto the peace that Jesus offers us. Worries will try to take over and crowd our minds. Therefore, we have to make a choice to rest in His peace. Our Prince of Peace is always with us. He is in every detail of our lives. So no matter what you are facing today, don’t doubt the Lord’s love and provision. His Presence is always there. And when we lean on Him, He will give us peace.

If you’re interested in joining us on our ADVENT2025 quest, please feel free to do so. The idea is simply to magnify and glorify Christ as we point people to Him. We’d love to have you share your Advent thoughts and experiences with us. Please be sure to tag your posts with ADVENT2025. There is plenty of room at the table.