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Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.
- Isaiah 26:12
Most of us like to receive credit for the things we’ve done in our life. Whether it’s achieving high grades in school, finding success as an athlete, growing a large business, attaining a certain amount of wealth, or raising wonderful kids, we like credit for our accomplishments. It feels validating. It’s nice to think we’ve done something impressive. We feel competent and meaningful. We feel like we matter. But even with those relatively simple accomplishments, we often owe someone else a great deal for what we do—parents for ensuring a stable environment, teachers for caring, family for investing years of hard work into us, a community for giving us a chance.
When it comes to even greater, lasting accomplishments, we contribute even less. In the passage for today, the prophet recognized that Israel had really done nothing on her own. Israel was only able to walk along her path, because God made it smooth (vs. 7). In fact, Isaiah acknowledged that, without God, we cannot learn even when we see grace; we continue in evil even when we are shown righteousness; we cannot see God’s hand even when it is lifted high (vs. 10-11).
When it comes to something like establishing peace—true peace—we contribute nothing. We can’t create peace between one another, let alone between ourselves and God. We are too often selfish and focused on ourselves. We wind up using our relationships in order to advance our own interests. Once someone no longer contributes to that end, they are no longer valuable to us.
But it is neither our accomplishments nor our ability to establish peace that makes us valuable. Instead, since God has already considered us valuable, he established peace for us. Even before we knew we needed it—before we wanted it—God did it. The fulfillment of this peace is, of course, Jesus Christ. He is our peace (Ephesians 2:14). The angels sang of the great work that Jesus came to do in Luke 2:14, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
His peace is put upon his people. And it is only when we have peace with God that we can have true peace between each other. He makes that peace possible. It’s nothing we can create or accomplish on our own. As we go through Advent, anticipating Christmas, let us not think that nostalgia or tradition will bring peace in our broken situations and fractured relationships. It will only be the peace of Christ. It is a peace that he will establish for you and within you. It is peace that settles your soul completely, because it’s not something you can earn, so neither can you lose it. May that peace overwhelm you and flow out from your relationship with God into your relationships with others.
~ Pastor Tim