Luke 1:76-79
Verse 79 “…to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
We have reached the last day of our study of peace so let’s do a quick review of what true peace is.
Our passage today is taken from Zechariah’s prophecy at the circumcision of John the Baptist. He tells how John is the one who came to pave the way for Jesus’ earthly ministry. Towards the end of the prophecy he turns his focus to the coming of Jesus. Our key verse is the conclusion of Zechariah’s speech. He speaks about how Jesus will be the light shining in the darkness.
What Zechariah said through the Spirit’s leading lays out the truth of peace. When he said, “…those living in darkness and in the shadow of death…” he was talking about those who were not walking in God’s way. These people weren’t living as God’s people and so didn’t know the light which comes from living in line with Him, therefore they couldn’t know His peace.
We learned early in the week how true peace cannot be enjoyed without living the righteous life God has called us to. It is in obedience we find peace with God which brings us great peace in return. If we want to know true peace we must live a life of obedience.
We learned about the Helper who was sent to guide and to help us remember how God wants us to live. He reminds us what we need to do to obey so peace with the Father is not interrupted. But the thing we must remember is we have to obey His promptings to be found obedient.
We also learned peace comes from keeping our focus on Christ. We are going to face troubles in this world when we are living as Christ would have us live and we need to remember in those times that we aren’t alone because He is right there with us. Our focus being on Him takes our focus off of the trials and keeps them from becoming our obsession. Looking to Him we can’t miss His being the light and as Zechariah said in our verse for the day, Jesus is the light “to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
Making It Personal
What have you learned about peace that you didn’t realize before? Do you feel the peace you want in life? What do you need to do to feel the peace of God in your life?
Making It Personal Kids
How would you describe peace? Do you feel that kind of peace in your life? What would you tell someone else so they could know the peace of Jesus?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for giving us Your peace. Help us keep our focus on You and follow in Your ways so we are never outside of Your peace again. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Σχόλια