Finding Peace in Difficult Times

When Peace Comes in Unexpected Ways

Christmas is traditionally associated with happiness and peace - and possibly Christmas jumpers. But for many people, it can be a difficult and stressful time. And some years feel bleaker than others.

In this Crowd Church Christmas talk, Matt Edmundson acknowledges that reality head-on. Whether it's conflict somewhere in the world, economic uncertainty closer to home, or personal struggles that make the festive season feel heavy rather than joyful - the famous Christmas carol about a bleak mid-winter where "frosty wind made moan" can feel pretty apt.

So can it really be a Merry Christmas in times like these? Matt believes it can - but perhaps not in the way we might expect.

The Story Starts With Hope

The first Christmas story was told at a time of darkness for the world - a time when the world needed a hero, a saviour. And so the story starts with hope, a promise that change would come.

In Luke's Gospel, God sends the Angel Gabriel to Mary with extraordinary news:

"Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever. His kingdom will never end." (Luke 1:30-33.)

Matt reflected on what a way this is to start the Christmas story: "The hero is coming. The one person who can transform everything and make everything right is on his way."

And when Jesus is born, the angels get so excited they appear in the sky and start singing. To shepherds minding their own business in the fields, an angel announces:

"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2:10-11.)

Then a great company of heavenly host appeared, praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests."

The Prince of Peace

Notice what the angels sang about at the birth of Jesus: peace.

"The angels knew that Jesus coming would bring this one key thing: peace," Matt explained. "And it wasn't just the angels that understood this."

Isaiah understood it 700 years before that first Christmas day:

"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6.)

Matt drew out the significance: "The Prince of Peace - that's who the angels were singing about. Christ, the Prince of Peace, would bring peace to all men and all women that please him, on whom his favour rests."

Jesus himself said: "I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid."

"That sounds amazing, doesn't it?" Matt reflected. "He's leaving us with a gift. It's Christmas. Christmas gift: peace. A peace that is literally out of this world, so we don't have to be troubled when in trouble, or afraid when in times of fear."

Peace Might Not Come How We Expect

So how does the Prince of Peace give us this gift? This is where the Christmas story teaches us something unexpected.

"When Christ came, the Jews were expecting him to come and rule, to take charge of the earth, to oust the evil dictators and overlords, and to rid the world of injustice and suffering. Peace, at least in their minds, would come by a ruling, conquering Messiah."

Instead? "It was a little bit shocking that Messiah spent his first few hours on Earth in a manger."

Matt was honest about our own expectations: "I think many of us still want the same thing today. God, if you are real, come and put an end to this suffering. Bring peace by being that overriding, all-conquering God and stop the wars and the evil and the pain and the suffering. Surely that is what a God of love should do, right?"

Yet somehow, in the midst of all this, we're faced with a baby in a manger. We're faced with the truth that peace is possible in spite of the world events and suffering we're living through.

When God Changes Your Location, Not Your Situation

At the time of Jesus' birth, their world was run by a delusional, evil tyrant - Herod - who was so afraid of losing power that he ordered the slaughter of all boys in Bethlehem under the age of two.

How did God respond? Not by sending angels to sort Herod out. Instead, Matthew tells us that God's angel appeared to Joseph in a dream: "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt. Stay until further notice. Herod is on the hunt for this child and wants to kill him."

Matt wrestled with this: "Hang on a minute. Mary is highly favoured of God. She is nursing the Christ, the Messiah. Why should she have to flee? Surely God should send angels to slap Herod around a little bit, to knock some sense into him."

But that's not what happened. "It seems that God doesn't override Herod's free will of craziness, but rather tells Joseph how to respond as a result. Basically: get out of there."

Here's the key insight: "Sometimes, just sometimes, the way that God gives us peace is to get us out of the situation that we are in. Sometimes we have to leave where we are to find peace. God doesn't always change the situation, but he will often change our location."

What Is Egypt For You?

This baby king, the Messiah, the Prince of Peace - he doesn't bring an iron rod to the rulers of the earth straight away. It's coming. It's just not yet.

"As much as we want God to change the economic climate and the wars, and as much as we pray for peace and restoration - and we do - our transformation might not be a change of situation, but a change of location."

Matt posed a direct question: "What is Egypt for you? Where is God leading you to, in order to find peace in difficult times?"

He offered some possibilities:

• It may be time to flee that relationship, that house, that toxic job - those things that are slowly killing you and choking you
• It may be time to flee that attitude and way of thinking which means you are always angry and bitter
• Maybe we need to flee the need to always be right, or your perfectionism, or need to control everything

"For Mary and Joseph, Bethlehem was a place where the story of Christ started. It was the right place to be at the beginning, but now it was time to move on. And it may be for some of us, we've got stuck. Stuck in places where God took us at the beginning, but now it's time to leave. But we find it hard because God was moving there once."

Matt also noted something important about the journey from Bethlehem to Egypt: "It's a bit like God leading you from your nice suburban life to the inner city. Maybe he's leading you to downsize, or to take a lower paid job. Maybe he's actually leading you to a different country. But finding peace in difficult times - well, that may mean moving on and moving forward. It's definitely about following the leading of God to where he will take you. But where he takes you might not always seem to be a promotion."

Fleeing Fear

Matt got personal about what he needs to flee: "One thing that is definitely on my radar at this particular time is fear. Especially because we are in these difficult times, it's easy for me to get caught up in the dread of the unknown, the stress, the anxiety, the hopelessness. Stuff that kind of strangles the life out of us."

He described how fear could make him "shrink in and protect what I have, to become selfish. And I could easily justify that too. I could spend all my time moaning about the government or policy or leaders, or whatever villain is popular at the time, as a way of distracting me and those around me from the fear in my own heart. I could easily become a victim here."

But it doesn't have to be that way. "My transformation might not be a change of my situation, but a change of my location. I can follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit and flee that position of fear to a position of divine peace."

What does that look like practically? "Instead of shrinking in, instead of selfishness, I believe that God can lead us to a place where we can be generous. When things are tight, he leads us to give and to do so with a merry and cheerful heart. And this is not just with our money, but our treasure and also our time, and also our tongue, and also our talents."

The Rulers of This World Are Temporary

Matt's encouragement: "Understand what it is you need to flee from. Follow the Holy Spirit at this time. Increase the time you spend rejoicing and praying and being grateful, and allow the peace of God to guard your heart."

He was realistic: "We don't know what will happen. And it might well get worse yet, just like it did in Bethlehem all those years ago. The government is not the answer, that is for sure. And we have to be really clear where we are looking for answers."

"Remember where your hope is placed, and remember who it is you serve. Remember who your provider is, who your comforter is, and remember this Christmas that Jesus is your Prince of Peace. We are of a different kingdom."

Here's the final point from the Christmas story: "The rulers of this world are temporal. Their kingdoms are temporary. Situations all eventually change, because we pray to and we serve an everlasting King and an everlasting kingdom. And his peace is eternal."

Eventually, Mary and Joseph returned to Nazareth. Herod was no more. The situation did change.

Conversation Street

"Could I really experience deep, profound, lasting peace in my situation?"

John Harding asked Matt directly whether peace is really possible in the face of global hardship - Ukraine, fuel poverty, economic crisis. Matt's response was honest:

"I absolutely do believe it. In these hardest times is where the gospel shines the brightest. It's where the Christmas message can absolutely transform a situation. And I believe it because I've experienced it. It's the reality in which I live. Every day it's: God, I know I need your peace. Outside of that, I'm not sure what I'm gonna do."

John agreed: "If we're not talking about the sort of peace that could be relevant in all circumstances of life, then we'd pack up and go home."

John shared his own background - jumble sales, secondhand Christmas gifts, his mum praying for food with none in the house, then finding a bag of groceries left at the door. "That is my story and my experience. That is my history - that actually we can experience Jesus as peace."

Peace is not passive - it's a person

John made an important distinction: "Peace is not passive. You don't just access this sort of peace in the challenges and darkness of life by doing nothing."

He noted that the modern therapeutic approach to peace - yoga classes, the right music, getting people to treat you differently - hasn't led to breakthrough. "The quest inward to explore our own feelings has not led people into breakthrough in their sense of peace. Habitually, people who reach outward are people who tend to have much more resilience and much more peace in life because of the perspective that brings."

John reflected on the phrase "Prince of Peace": "Normally when you have 'the prince of', it's followed by a place. Prince of Wales, or the Prince of Persia. The Prince of Peace is a person, and peace is described almost like a place that we find in Jesus. What peace is there outside of him?"

The power of gratitude

Matt highlighted Philippians 4:6-7: "Don't worry about anything. Instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all that he has done."

"There's this thing about gratitude," Matt observed. "The ability to give thanks - not for everything, but in everything. Especially in difficult times."

John added that telling God what you need isn't for God's benefit - he already knows. "It's because of the impact it has on us."

Obedience and following God's leading

Matt reflected on Joseph's example: "Joseph's ability to have a dream and just do what God said to do - I find it extraordinary. The man just follows whatever God says, sometimes at massive personal cost. That ability just to follow what God says and go to places where maybe he doesn't want to go leads to peace."

"Obedience," John summarised. "Obedience to the Lord's leading."

Your Next Step This Week

1. Identify what you need to flee from - Is it a toxic situation, a destructive attitude, fear, the need to control? Ask God to show you.

2. Follow the Holy Spirit's leading - Even if where he leads doesn't look like a promotion.

3. Increase gratitude, prayer, and rejoicing - These aren't extras; they're how the peace of God guards your heart.

4. Be generous - Instead of shrinking in to protect what you have, ask God to lead you to give - your money, time, tongue, and talents.

5. Remember whose kingdom you belong to - The rulers of this world are temporary. Your King and his peace are eternal.

Give Him Your Heart

The carol "In the Bleak Midwinter" ends with these words: "What can I give him? Give him my heart."

Matt called this the antidote to bleakness: "Finding peace in difficult times is all about giving him - Jesus, our Christmas peace - our hearts. Giving him all our fear and anxiety to a Christ, knowing that he cares for us. Allowing that Christmas rejoicing to rise up within us, to sing with gusto the Christmas carols. And we can reach out and share that joy with a hurting world."

The situation may be bleak. But God can change your location - to a joy-filled, peaceful place.

Merry Christmas. And peace on earth.