Lesson Four: Prince of Peace
Sierra Combs
A few years ago, my beautiful 22-year-old cousin was killed in a car accident. I wish I had pages of space to tell you her testimony because it is pretty much the most amazing one I have ever witnessed, but perhaps another day. I remember it vividly. Those were some of the most difficult days of my life. On the late October day that she died, I walked into my doctor’s office excited for a routine ultrasound of our third baby-to-be, only to find that there was no longer a heartbeat and we had lost the baby. I walked out to my car, and before I even had my seatbelt buckled, my mom called to tell me that Jordan had just been killed. Talk about a double punch in the gut. In the course of 15 minutes, I went from a happy, vibrant girl who was over the moon and excited about the future, to a girl overwhelmed with grief and despair, having just lost two people that I loved. I can still feel the knots in my stomach when I think about that day. I will never forget that funeral. I will never forget the hundreds and hundreds of people who waited in line for hours to pay their respects to the family and say goodbye. I can still see the tear-streamed faces and hear the cries of her friends. This girl touched so many lives. However, the thing I will never forget was her amazingly strong mother and the way she took on that day. She stood for hours, greeting every single person in that line with a huge smile on her face, sharing the Gospel with all of them (several of which accepted Christ by the way; again, another amazing story for another day!). I have never seen anyone exude so much peace as I did that day.
How could a mother who lost her precious daughter just days before have so much peace? How could I find that same source of peace as I mourned the loss of my child, one I would never meet? There was nothing we could do to stop these things – death, loss, wars, sickness, turmoil, and evil. The list seems endless. This world is so chaotic and hard, and we have no control over it. How could anyone ever have peace? Though life’s troubles have a way of sneaking up on us, nothing takes God by surprise. Because of His sweet and lovingkindness, He sent us a Savior, the “Prince of Peace,” Jesus Christ. However, God never tells us that because we are saved, we will have it easy. He actually tells us the opposite. In John 16:33, Jesus is speaking to His disciples and tells them, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” You see, true peace, God’s peace, is not the same as worldly peace. It does not come from a happy life, free from pain and suffering. If it did, no one would ever be able to attain it, at least not for very long. True peace comes from knowing that God is in control. True peace comes from knowing that God is in control and giving that control over to Him (even though it was never even ours to begin with, but hey, it is the thought that counts). God tells us that when we are anxious and troubled that all we have to do is bring that burden to him, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). When we present our requests to God through prayer and petition, then “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
As much as I wish that Jordan was still with us and that another little blue-eyed, blonde Combs kid was running around my house, God had a different plan. Sometimes we will not be able to understand the reasons behind the plan, but our God is so faithful and loving. While He does not promise us peace in the way the world would define it, He promises something better. As a child of God, I know that He is in complete control and that no matter what I face in this life, my future is eternally secure. Rest in God’s true peace today and every day, giving thanks to the Savior, Jesus Christ, the “Prince of Peace.”