25 December 2015

Fourth Week of Advent: Peace


And then there was peace.
For though the night was far from silent,
It silenced the voice of death.
For the empty tomb and the bloody cross began with one breath,
A child’s, born in a stable.
Peace, peace on earth.
Immanuel, God with us, a humble child.
But the night is dark,
So I hold my candle high.
I hold my candle high,
Because God became flesh and dwelt among us.
So I have something deeper than a battle cry,
I bear the truth that will turn death backwards:
Peace, peace on earth.
And all that is within me aches to join the fight,
To burst behind enemy lines, to free the captives from their curse.
If hope is light and love is sacrifice and joy is blazing,
Then peace is what binds them together,
What strengthens my bones and trains my arms to bend a bow of bronze—
Not to bring war, but to proclaim the victory to those that sit in darkness.
Not to kill but to declare that life has come.
Peace is that voice which says, Whom shall I fear?
For I know that man can harm the body but he cannot touch my soul,
For my God is my rearguard, my fortress, my deliverer.
My God is the God that raised the mountains from the dirt,
Who drew the line between the oceans and the shore,
Who broke open the soil for the mighty oak to burst through,
So peace, peace on earth.
Come, come you weary travelers,
You empty wanderers, come.
For here there is the bread of life, the water that you might never thirst again,
The blood that atones for your sin and the righteousness that bears you forward.
Behold your God.

O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
And lay your foundations with sapphires.
I will make your pinnacles of agate,
Your gates of carbuncles,
And all your walls of precious stones.
All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
And great shall be the peace of your children.
In righteousness you shall be established,;
You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Isaiah 54:11-14

~~~

Merry Christmas everyone! 

13 comments :

  1. This almost made me cry because it's so beautiful and so truth-filled and so life-giving. I feel like I've been living in Isaiah this past month (although honestly haven't been in the Bible as I should be or even as I usually am which is sad because of all times you'd think I would be at the time we celebrate his birth but I haven't at all BUT ANYWAY) Isaiah 40:28-31, 42:16 43:1-2 are some of my absolute faves. I have lots of feels about this post but that's all I have words for because lasdkjfldskjfldksjf. This gave me lotsa peace.

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    1. ISAIAH. Yes. It is one of my very favorite books of the Bible because it is so FULL. I just love it so much. And yeah, I feel you on not being in my Bible as much as I want to. It's rough. Anyway, so glad you liked this poem. It was the hardest Advent poem to write, for some reason, just because it's one of those poems written in faith--because it's so hard to claim peace, even though it's right there for the taking. But God has really been speaking to me about it, so it is good. Thanks for the amazing comment, Olivia, and for reading! You made my day. :-)

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  2. Something deeper than a battle cry.
    That line was so powerful because peace runs deeper than the fear and the noise of battles. I'm a weary traveller that has wandered and I need to come back to the throne of Peace of Love, so thank you for this reminder <3

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    1. Yes, yes, YES! Amennnn. "peace runs deeper than the fear and the noise of battles." <--THAT. Is like, exactly what I wanted to say, but you said it better than I ever could! Thank you for reading, Elisabeth! <3

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    2. okay retweet elisabeth that's the line that really got me

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  3. hallelujahhhhh. *gets hot wax all over fingers* Love ya, my father. I hope Christmas was true. <3<3

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    1. Mah sooooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnn. XDDDD Thanks for the comment, you weirdo. And amen. Hallelujah. For God is good, good, good, and ever will be.

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  4. This may have been the hardest to write, but it also may have been my favorite of them all so far.

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    1. Huzzah! I'm so glad you liked it, Maggie! :-D That's awesome. The way God speaks is oftentimes unexpected. :-)

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  5. Christmas is such a magical season. And this poem right here is as magical. <3 So often, we ignore the real reason for Christmas, and I smile when I read this poem because oh isn't it true, "Because God became flesh and dwelt among us." What, really, would we be without His birth?

    Thanks for sharing this, Hannah! :) I'm in love with it ♥
    XXX -nameless writing

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    1. Amen! Thank you for your comment! And it's all God, because without Him, I wouldn't even have words--and even my words can't express the fullness of what He has done! Praise God for Christmas, then! :-D

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