Finding Peace in a Season of Striving
Scroll to read a recap of Pastor Toby Cavanaugh’s sermon from December 7, 2025!
Every year, Christmas arrives with a paradoxical weight. While it may be the season in which we praise “peace on earth,” many of us enter it with a familiar sense of anxiety. Between strained family gatherings, financial pressure, and the weight of unmet expectations, peace often feels like the last thing we experience. When the busyness of this season hits, we can forget the medicine that cures all fear: a Prince of Peace was born, and His peace has no end.
Most of us equate our external happiness with internal peace. We think if we can present ourselves a certain way, secure the right job, or enter the right relationship, then we will finally feel content. Instead of pursuing intimacy and peace with God, we chase harmony with the world.
This mirrors the way the people of Israel understood Isaiah's prophecy about a coming Prince of Peace. They imagined a powerful king who would bring victory in battle, economic prosperity, and social justice. Once all of these needs were met, then they would have peace. But when Jesus arrived, He turned their expectations—and ours—upside down. Our understanding of peace, much like the Israelites’, follows the opposite formula from the one God commands.
The night before His crucifixion, Jesus gathered His disciples and made a powerful declaration:
“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
These three simple sentences transform everything we think about peace.
First, Jesus tells us that trouble is mandatory. Everyone will face difficulties—believer, unbeliever, and everyone in between. No amount of striving exempts us from hardship; it is part of the human experience. It’s not a matter of if but when. When Jesus says, “In me you may have peace,” rather than “in better circumstances,” He is showing us that true peace is rooted in His presence, not in our conditions.
Later that same evening, Jesus offered another defining promise:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give to you.
Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
Here, Jesus uses the language of inheritance—something precious, intentional, and passed down. He is saying that His peace belongs to every one of His children. We often remember that Jesus died for our forgiveness and healing, yet we forget that He also died to give us peace. The punishment that purchased our peace fell on Him.
If peace is our inheritance, then why do so many of us live with troubled hearts and anxious minds?
Jesus is not called the “friend of peace.” He is the Prince of Peace—ruler, governor, supreme authority. When we submit to Him as Lord and trust Him more than our circumstances, we become recipients of His peace. This often means surrendering the things we’ve relied on to create false peace—possessions, worldly approval, addictions, or anything we reach for to self-soothe. When the overwhelming peace of Christ meets us, we gain the strength to trust Him with what we cannot control.
In a season often marked by anxiety, Christ extends to us the steady promise of His peace. Though trouble is certain and life seldom matches our expectations—especially in the swirl of Christmas frenzy—we are still invited to choose the better portion.
Will we take it?
Tap to watch Pastor Lee Cummings’ full sermon on Youtube.
Here's a 5-day devotional guide based on this sermon:
Day 1: The Promise of Peace
Reading: Isaiah 9:6–7
Devotional: Seven hundred years before Christ's birth, God promised a Prince of Peace whose government and peace would have no end. This wasn't just a prediction—it was a covenant promise from a faithful God. The people of Israel waited centuries for this promise to be fulfilled, holding onto hope through exile, oppression, and darkness. Today, we live on the other side of that promise. The Prince of Peace has come. Yet sometimes we still wait—for peace in our circumstances, our relationships, our hearts. As you begin this Advent season, remember that God's promises are certain. The peace He promised then is available now. What promise of God are you waiting to see fulfilled? Trust that the same faithful God who kept His word about the Messiah will keep His word to you.
Day 2: Peace in the Storm
Reading: John 16:25–33
Devotional: Jesus spoke these words knowing His disciples would soon face the greatest crisis of their lives—His crucifixion. He didn't promise them easy circumstances. Instead, He guaranteed trouble: "In this world you will have trouble." Yet in the same breath, He offered something more powerful: "In me you may have peace." Notice the contrast—trouble is mandatory, but peace is optional. Peace doesn't come from controlling our circumstances; it comes from connection with Christ. When storms rage around us—financial pressure, health concerns, relational conflict—we can still experience supernatural calm. Jesus has overcome the world, which means no circumstance has the final word. Today, identify one area of trouble in your life. Instead of seeking to change the circumstance first, invite the Prince of Peace into that space and receive His gift of impossible peace.
Day 3: The Cost of Our Peace
Reading: Isaiah 53:1–6
Devotional: "The punishment that brought us peace was upon him." Christmas isn't just about a baby in a manger; it's about a man on a cross. The peace we celebrate at Christmas cost Jesus everything. He was pierced, crushed, and wounded so that we could experience wholeness and peace. Every anxious thought we surrender, every troubled heart He calms, every moment of supernatural peace we experience—it was all purchased at Calvary. We didn't earn it. We can't manufacture it. We can only receive it as a gift bought with His blood. This Advent, don't take His peace for granted. When anxiety threatens to overwhelm you, remember the price He paid. Let gratitude fill your heart as you receive what He died to give you.
Day 4: Receiving Your Inheritance
Reading: John 14:25–27
Devotional: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you." Jesus used inheritance language here—He was bequeathing something precious to His children. Your spiritual inheritance isn't anxiety, fear, or a troubled heart. Your inheritance is impossible peace. But here's the key: a gift must be received. Many Christians know about this peace intellectually but haven't experienced it practically because they haven't received it by faith. Receiving requires surrender—acknowledging Jesus not just as Savior but as Prince, as Lord, as Ruler of your life. When we try to maintain control while asking for peace, we contradict ourselves. Today, practice receiving His peace. In moments of stress, pause and pray: "Jesus, I receive the peace You died to give me. I reject anxiety as my portion and accept peace as my inheritance." Faith receives what love has provided.
Day 5: Living in Impossible Peace
Reading: 2 Thessalonians 3:16; Philippians 4:6-7
Devotional: "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way." At all times. In every way. This is the promise of impossible peace—peace that defies logic, transcends circumstances, and guards our hearts even when life makes no sense. The early missionaries, the martyrs, the faithful saints throughout history didn't experience easier circumstances than we do—they experienced greater peace in harder circumstances. That same peace is available to you today. Not because you're special, but because you know the Prince of Peace. As you move through this Christmas season with all its pressures and expectations, practice living from peace rather than striving for peace. When anxiety whispers, "What if?" let peace answer, "Even if." The Lord of peace Himself wants to give you His peace today—at all times and in every way. Will you receive it?
There’s an opportunity for you to grow in your spiritual journey, build meaningful community, and truly get connected. At Radiant Church, we’re passionate about helping people grow in faith, encounter the Presence of God, and be part of a church grounded in Spirit and truth.