Advent Reflections: Prince of Peace

Is it really possible to have peace…actual peace…in a world that feels anything but peaceful? 

I’ll never forget being in Israel when war broke out in 2023, when suddenly, the verse we’ve all quoted so many times, “and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” - became vividly real for my husband and me. We’ve spoken that promise over our lives, over circumstances, and over countless moments of uncertainty, but for the first time, it settled over us like a warm blanket. In the midst of chaos, we were filled with perfect peace…a deep, steady, unexplainable peace, and we were fully at rest with whatever the outcome might have been.

Jesus Himself said in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” Jesus, our Savior, has overcome the world! And because of that unshakable truth, we can have peace.

A Great Light

That same peace we experienced in Israel, the kind that defies logic and steadies the soul, is the very peace Isaiah foretold long before Jesus ever stepped into our world. In Isaiah 9:1–2, the prophet speaks of people walking in deep darkness, a people surrounded by fear, uncertainty, and threats pressing in on every side. Yet into that darkness, Isaiah declares that a great light will shine. Not a flicker. Not a brief moment of relief. A great light that would break through the heaviness and dispel the shadows.

And then he tells us how that light will come:

For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders…And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

A Child, fragile, small, and easily overlooked, yet carrying the full weight of God’s authority. A Son, given, whose rule would not be oppressive like the nations surrounding Israel, but life-giving, peace-making, and everlasting.

Isaiah calls Him the Prince of Peace, not because He merely brings peace, but because He is peace. Peace is His very nature. He doesn’t distribute peace like a resource; He is the source. And the government that rests on His shoulders, the supreme authority over every kingdom, every ruler, every anxiety, every outcome, will have no end. Which means His peace has no end. His rule is not seasonal. His authority is not shaken by the world’s chaos. His power is not diminished by our fear. 

There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace on the throne of David and over His kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of armies will accomplish this (Isaiah 9:7).

The Presence of Christ 

On week two of Advent, consider the peace we have through Christ: 

• Peace that enters darkness.

• Peace that takes on flesh.

• Peace that rules with perfect wisdom, perfect justice, and perfect love.

• Peace that carries the government of the world — and the government of our lives — with unwavering strength.

Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33). He is the same Child Isaiah promised. The peace He offers isn’t dependent on circumstances improving or life settling down. It’s rooted in Him, in His reign. His government is over our hearts, our decisions, our fears, and our futures…even as war was unfolding before us in 2023.

We can all have peace when Jesus governs our lives. When we yield, peace follows. Not because everything becomes easy, but because everything comes under His authority.

So, as we light the Advent candle of peace, we’re reminded that peace is not the absence of trouble, it is the presence of Christ. His peace is here. His peace is for us. And His peace is the gift we carry into a world still longing for light.

God Bless You, 

Carole