I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. - John 16:33 (NLT)

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It’s Christmas Eve!

Now before you jump back into your to-do list for the day, I want to pause for just a minute and talk about the one thing that all people want to possess. Regardless of your upbringing, or even your religious affiliation, I believe all people seek a calming sense of peace in their life. And yet, year after year, the holiday season and Christmas Eve plans, expectations, and schedules tend to stir up more harried hassle and hustle than calming cocoa and wassail. This might surprise you, but this hurried commotion is probably a lot like what the day before the first Christmas was like. Think of a peaceful situation.

I imagine you’re probably not envisioning a mad dash back to your hometown with your pregnant wife on a donkey, only to find out that there’s nowhere for you to stay or even a place for her to give birth. As if that weren’t enough, there’s also a foreign king who wants to kill your baby.

Not exactly the picture of peace, am I right?

But this changes. As you go on to read about the moments that follow Jesus’s birth, you can’t help but pick up on the peaceful reality that the King of Kings and Savior of the world had been delivered. Although this moment didn’t change the outward circumstances, or the fact that this lower-class family still had plenty of challenges down the road, they were still able to find peace in the moment.

The next two days are going to be busy. There are so many distractions surrounding us, and if your family is anything like mine, then the annual Christmas family fight is coming soon! But I challenge you to intentionally carve out these peaceful moments. Take some time today to pause and appreciate the peace that comes in knowing the value of the true gift that we celebrate tomorrow.