3 Experiencing God’s Peace

The Christmas Experience – Week Three

Experiencing God’s Peace

Matthew 1:18–20 CSB

The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit. So her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

Dominant Thought: We experience God’s peace in the midst of chaos when we obey.

Introduction

Tonight is Christmas Eve and although you’re probably excited about tomorrow, right now you might still be trying to get in a peaceful frame of mind.

Maybe you’re not feeling peaceful because of all that’s going on in the world from the constant news about covid-19 to the disputes about who our next president will be in less than a month.

Perhaps you’ve spent today finishing your to-do list, or shopping. Or maybe it was just another normal work day and at the moment you’re tired and just not feeling at peace.

Joseph had a lot of reasons not to be at peace, too. His fiancée was pregnant, his village probably thought he was an idiot, and he had to travel to Bethlehem to register for the census. His life was a mess, and he couldn’t control it.

But in reading the Christmas story, we don’t even see a hint of stress from Joseph. It was certainly there, but that’s not what stuck out about this man. None of the biblical authors record anything negative about Joseph—not even close. Instead, he is portrayed as a righteous man, a fitting husband and father for the Messiah.

There is peace in Joseph’s life—even though his world was spinning out of control. Joseph’s story in Matthew 1 gives us a glimpse into the peace of God, even in the midst of chaos, because Joseph did things God’s way.

First of all, Joseph had peace in the midst of chaos because he had compassion...

Compassion (Matthew 1:18-19)

Verse 19 says, “Being a righteous man, [Joseph did] not wanting to disgrace her publicly...”

It would have been in Joseph’s best interest to make a spectacle of Mary and draw negative attention away from himself. Joseph knows he’s not the father, so Mary must have been unfaithful with someone else.

Being a righteous man he knows he can’t just ignore the pregnancy, but he also doesn’t want to humiliate Mary.

So Joseph is faced with the difficult decision of what to do with Mary. She became pregnant outside of wedlock, and she could face any number of consequences. The law of Moses called for stoning. But, Joseph doesn’t want to throw the book at her, rather Joseph’s initial response is one of compassion.

Here’s the lesson. Joseph doesn’t enter a chaotic situation and try to find peace by seeking what he wants; instead he thinks about Mary. That’s how we find peace—by seeking the good of others.

Joseph was able to have peace in the midst of chaos because he wasn’t thinking of himself, he was thinking of how to show compassion to others.

Proverbs 17:9 says “love conceals an offense” but that doesn’t mean we ignore the mistakes of others. Instead it means that we show understanding, patience, and especially compassion toward others when they offend us.

If someone cuts in front of you, instead of giving an angry response, respond with acknowledging they might legitimately be in an even greater hurry than you are.

Be at peace by showing compassion. Thinking of others, is how to have peace in the midst of chaos.

Secondly, be have peace in the midst of chaos through...

Prayer (Matthew 1:20-23)

Verse 20 says, “But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream...”

Now, the connection with prayer may not seem obvious at first, but think about it. The word for “considered” means “to think deeply about something” which is of course what we do when we talk to God.

So, Joseph, after thinking deeply about the situation, with a prayerful heart he then heard from God through a dream.

Prayer is a conversation with God. When we talk to God he responds to us through his word. The goal of prayer is to let God speak into the situation and that’s what Joseph was doing. So prayer leads to peace in the midst of chaos.

Unfortunately, our prayers don’t go far enough, though. We tell God what we need (as if He doesn’t know) and then say amen hoping He will do what we asked him to do.

But that kind of prayer falls short. Think about the prayers in the Bible, the prayers of David and of Jesus. They expressed their needs but then they always concluded with submitting to God’s will.

Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, asked God for the cup of pain and suffering to pass him by but then concluded his prayer with “your will be done.”

And it was praying for God’s will to be done that led to peace for Joseph.

Joseph had a dream in which God told him what to do. And while I doubt God will speak to us through an Angel like he did with Joseph, I do know that giving God a chance to weigh in on difficult decisions is the way to peace.

When we turn our decisions over to God, through prayer, and we let Him have a say about what we should do, His peace can overtake even the most chaotic circumstances.

Thirdly, be at peace in the midst of chaos through...

Obedience (Matthew 1:24-25)

Verse 24 says, “When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him.”

This verse is probably the most important verse in this whole passage. Joseph had godly motives—he had compassion—and he let God speak into the decision.

But that’s not enough because the danger for Joseph, and for us, is hearing what God wants and then doing something different.

It would be like saying I know you want we to love my enemies and show compassion to all people but today I’m just not feeling it. My life is so chaotic right now I just can’t do what I know you want me to do.

If we respond this way to God, not only do we disobey him, but our lives will be filled with anxiety, with worry, and everything but peace.

Joseph, though, responded perfectly and “did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him.” The only way to experience the peace of God—even at Christmas—is to do things His way.

Conclusion

So, doing our will often seems like the easiest, most peaceful way. But the only way to truly experience peace in the midst of a chaotic world is to do things God’s way, to obey his commands that we read in Scripture.

A husband and wife were discussing the possibility of taking a trip to the Holy Land and how much better their lives would be as a result.

The husband said, “Wouldn’t it be fantastic to go to the Holy Land and stand and shout the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai?”

The wife thought about that for a second and said “It would be better if we stayed home and kept them.”

It’s true. Often we spend far to much time thinking about how to find peace with vacations, and holidays, thinking they will bring the peace we desire when the reality is we just need to read God’s word and do what He says, right where we already are.

The Bible says, “When Joseph woke up” he didn’t delay, he simply “did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him.”

Showing compassion to others, praying for God’s will to be done, and then doing what God says are the ways to have peace in a chaotic world.

Let’s pray...

Merry Christmas, everyone. May God richly bless you all.