I don’t know what you’re going through right now.  I don’t know where your heart’s at. Maybe your classes are overwhelming you. Maybe you come from a broken family. Maybe a loved one just passed and you don’t know how to get through it. Maybe you’re going through a hard break up. Maybe you feel like you’ve been running and running and calling out to God for help because you just need peace.

In the Bible, God is given many different names. Isaiah 9:6 says “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” The name, “Prince of Peace” is what I want to focus on today, and it’s not only a name, but a promise.

Last spring, I was nearing the end of my first year of college. My classes were terribly hard, and I was beyond stressed for my finals. It was the first day of finals week and I had just finished my hardest test of the week when I got a call from my mom. My mom informed me that my grandma had unexpectedly become extremely sick with pneumonia and was in the hospital on life support. She told me that I needed to come home. I was so close with my grandma, and I was so angry and confused because she had JUST overcome lung cancer AND a brain tumor. And on top of that, it was finals week. My mind was both racing and going in slow motion. In a matter of 2 hours, I had packed up my entire dorm room, made arrangements with my teachers, and headed home. I remember getting home and as soon as my mom gave me a hug, I just broke down. The next morning, we knew it was the day we were going to say goodbye to my grandma. I remember so vividly kneeling on my bathroom floor that morning, just crying out to God, giving it all to him, and praying for peace and strength. At the hospital that day, yes I was sad and yes I cried, but by the grace of God, I was given the peace to embrace and comfort everyone in the room. I was able to be the rock for my sisters and my mom. I was able to hold them and be their shoulder to lean on. By His peace, He gave me the strength to stay with my mom while we sat with my grandma until the very end. And by His grace, He was able to use that day and that situation to be the spark that ignited a fire for God in me, my sisters, and the rest of my family.

I wanted to tell you this story today to show you that God has a plan and a purpose for everything. He can use everything for good if you let him in–even the bad stuff. Sometimes God will use our situations to point others to him. If we trust in who He is, He will provide us with overwhelming peace so that we are able to shift our focus to the ones around us that desperately need Him (and maybe they don’t even know it). By his grace, we are able to take the focus off of our own circumstances and be a vessel for God’s love and peace to others.

No matter where you’re at today, know that the Prince of Peace will walk through any fire and cross any ocean to meet you right where you’re at–right in the midst of your circumstances. But more than that, He has a greater purpose for your circumstances and a plan to use you right where you’re at to bless others. So trust Him. Wherever you’re at, invite him in. Trust in his name, and the promise that it brings.

With love,

Sarah

(P. s. Listen to “Prince of Peace” by Hillsong United….you won’t regret it)

“Tearing through the night / Riding on the storm / Staring down the fight / My eyes found Yours / Shining like the sun / Striding through my fear / The Prince of Peace met me there” — Prince of Peace by Hillsong United