Devotion: Peace
Luke 2:28-32
“Simeon took him (the infant Jesus) in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”
The Holy Spirit had promised the elderly Simeon he would not die before seeing the Messiah. When Mary and Joseph present Jesus in the temple, Simeon holds Jesus, praises God, and tells God he’s ready to die – to go in peace to God’s promised Heaven.
Simeon has also lived in peace – despite the political turmoil of the Roman occupation. Peace, simply put, is confidence in God. Confidence that he will keep his promises. That day in the temple, Simeon saw that God had indeed sent the promised Savior to the world, and kept his promise that Simeon would see him.
We also can live in peace, despite the turmoil of our times. Because peace isn’t the absence of trouble, it’s the presence of God in our lives.
Life can be stressful. God doesn’t promise us a problem-free life, but he does promise to be with us always. When we must deal with pain, loss, discouragement, doubt or fear, Jesus is right beside us, holding us up, asking us to let him carry our burden.
God promises to hear our prayers, and he does. And he answers them: Yes, No, Later, I’ve Got a Better Idea. And he has promised us Heaven, sacrificing his son Jesus so we have forgiveness of our sins and eternal life.
When we recall God’s promises and how he has fulfilled them, we can have peace, knowing he will keep on loving and caring for us as he has always done.
Heavenly Father, thank you. Thank you that we can live in peace, confident in your promises. Amen.
Written by Cheryl Stubbendieck
Cheryl Stubbendieck is a member of Sheridan’s Devotion Writing Team. She and her husband Jim live near Sheridan. Their family includes their son Aaron and his wife Chaitra of San Francisco, CA and their son Reed of Madison, WI. Cheryl was the public relations department head for Nebraska Farm Bureau before retiring in 2012. She spent the next four years as the volunteer manager of Barnabas Community and now helps to manage the OneSent Market.