There is something about the holidays that brings our longings for peace to the surface. Some look forward to a break from everyday demands, meaningful time with loved ones, and the comfort of familiar traditions. Yet for others, this time of year brings fresh reminders of hardship, estrangement, or significant loss. Whether we anticipate these months with eagerness or apprehension, our desire for peace in our homes and our hearts is stirred. We may grow more aware of our God-given blessings, but also more weary of all that’s broken in and around us.
A peaceful holiday may be exactly what we want—but not what we actually have.
So what hope is there when the peace we long for seems out of reach? A Thanksgiving meal may not mend a fractured relationship. Christmas carols may not calm the worries weighing on our minds. The world may joyfully usher in a new year, yet January doesn’t automatically lift the grief we carry into it. When the holidays are anything but peaceful, we may not only grieve but grow disheartenedand wonder how to hold on to hope when all that seems to be changing is time. In moments like these, we need a peace that is not of this world and a consolation that can sustain us not only through the holiday season, but even in the shadow of death itself (Psalm 23:4; John 14:27).
A Waiting People Visited
Whileour longings for peace can feel more pronounced this time of year, they are hardly unique to us. At the time of Christ’s birth, God’s people had been waiting some four hundred years to hear a fresh word from the Lord. Think of all the sabbaths, feasts, and Passovers that came and went; all those who were born and buried during that time; all the unrest, conflict, and sorrow they endured with no end in sight. But then, “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law” (Galatians 4:4). God “visited and redeemed his people . . . as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old” (Luke 1:68b, 70, emphasis mine). Centuries of silence did not mean that God had forgotten his covenant (Luke 1:72). Yes, his promise was unfulfilled for a time—but it hadn’t failed.
Sometimes when we enter the holidays feeling disheartened or anxious, it’s meaningful to reflect on God’s gracious visitation in Christ. If you find yourself waiting to see his work unfold in your life, if you’re wondering if he’s forgotten to do as he said, then the incarnation reminds us that our Father will surely perform what he speaks. His timing and ways are mysterious, but they are always aligned with his Word. Waiting on God may be especially difficult during “the most wonderful time of the year,” but it’s never in vain.
A Wayward People Saved
While waiting on God is commonplace for his people, it can be hard to remain hopeful when his promises seem far away. Our longings for peace might lead us to place all our hope on temporal change—like the success of a medical treatment, relief from financial strain, or “being delivered from the hand of our enemies” (Luke 1:74). Like the Israelites, we have real and pressing problems—some of which keep us up at night as we search for solutions. And when relief is long delayed, we may begin to wonder whether God truly sees our suffering or cares about what we’re going through.
But Christ’s coming assures us that God is not indifferent to the plight of his people. In his “tender mercy” (Luke 1:78), he sent his Son to address a need far greater than any earthly hardship. God’s wayward people didn’t merely need deliverance from their enemies. They also needed to be saved from the penalty and power of sin and death; they needed God’s forgiveness (Luke 1:77), which is precisely what the Son in the manger was sent to secure. Indeed, Mary’s baby would live up to the name he was given before his birth: “you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
Christ’s birth reminds us of the mercy that God showed sinners through the giving of his Son. And nowhere is his faithful love more clearly demonstrated than at the cross, where “Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). When lingering troubles make it hard to see proof of God’s concern, we can look beyond Bethlehem to Calvary for the assurance we need. God’s love may be hard to discern in this season, but that doesn’t mean it’s diminished. Not in the least.
A Weary People Guided
When life’s hardships collide with holiday pressures, reminders of God’s saving love might not completely quench our longing for peace. We may trust that our sins are forgiven yet still yearn for the peace of God that our peace with God affords us in Christ. Some nights, it may feel impossible to rest; what if tomorrow is no better? And yet, as we see in Zechariah’s prophecy, God offers his weary people something far greater than temporal comfort or certainty—he offers himself as a light “in the darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:79).
We see this pathway to peace reflected in Simeon’s song. Luke tells us that Simeon had been “waiting for the consolation of Israel” and that “it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:25–26). But when he finally saw the baby Jesus in the temple, “he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, ‘Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word’” (Luke 2:28–29).
We don’t know how long Simeon had waited for God to do as he spoke—or how many dark days he had to endure with this hope. But the peace that came as he beheld his Savior strengthened him to face even death itself.
As you move forward through the holiday season (however chaotic, contentious, or mournful it may be), remember that Christ has come to be your light and consolation—and that to behold him afresh is to be strengthened by the Spirit for what lies ahead. Like Simeon, not even the shadow of death can prevent us from praising the Father for the generous gift of the Son. Our Savior has visited us from on high to redeem us and give us bright hope for the future—just as he spoke. Like all of God’s waiting, wayward, weary people, a peaceful holiday may not be what we have.
But the peace Christ gives to his own is already ours.
