How to find peace in a noisy world
If there is one thing the imagery of Christmas promises, it is peace. Scenic cards display idyllic images with streetlamps softly beaming over gently falling snow. Nativity scenes display a rested Mary and Joseph, not a care on their faces, beaming down at Jesus in the manger.
In one sense, the point this scene captures is true. Jesus did come to bring peace. The prophet Isaiah said He would be called “the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). As the angels announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds, they proclaimed “on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). Jesus came to bring us peace with God and to bring the peace of God to our hearts.
But where we sometimes get the message of peace in the Christmas story wrong is in failing to recognize the chaos of that first Christmas. Yes, Jesus came to bring peace, but He was not born into a peaceful world.
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Contrary to the title of one of the most sung carols, Jesus was not born into a “Silent Night.” Everything about His coming was challenging. Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem was marked by political and social tensions, they were greeted at their destination with rejection, and the town where Jesus was born was bursting at the seams with busy people. But in the midst of the chaos, God entered our world. And when Jesus came, He introduced a peace that has outlasted every century, every crisis, and every chaotic moment since.
Our world isn’t peaceful. Noise surrounds us on every side — digital chatter, incessant alerts, urgent news cycles, chaotic schedules. Sometimes the unrest is deeper — anxiety, grief, and disappointment can grip our hearts, especially during the holiday season. Add to this, that Christmas has its own set of pressures — party planning, holiday shopping, financial burdens, and sometimes the strain of contentious family relationships.
We long for a “silent night,” but sometimes it seems that stillness is an unattainable luxury. How can we who know Christ find peace amid the noise?
Consider Him
Part of the reason for the unrest of our souls is that we get caught up in things that don’t matter. The pace of our lives and the pressures that bear down on us, if left to build, can lead to a disquieted soul.
Sometimes, we simply need to be still and reflect on who Jesus is and what His presence means in our lives. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Hebrews 12:3 tells burdened Christians, “For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”
Mary knew how to do this. Throughout Luke 2, the Bible tells us that she “kept all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).
Mary didn’t just move through the outward motions of her responsibilities in giving birth to and raising Jesus. She considered who He was and, later, what He said: “his mother kept all these sayings in her heart” (Luke 2:51).
How can you and I find peace through considering Christ? We do it by opening God’s Word and discovering who He is and what He tells us. Do you have this time daily? Do you have a time and place that you daily open the Word of God and seek the presence of God? It is amazing how time in God’s presence through the truths of His Word can recalibrate our souls.
Find contentment in Him
Discontentment is rampant at Christmas time. Case in point: every year, the day after Christmas is one of the busiest days stores see all year — not from sales, but from people returning items they received as presents. Sometimes our dissatisfaction is not in our possessions, but in our circumstances.
Peace comes through surrendering to God and trusting that His plan for us is right. Author Robert Morgan wrote, “We don’t always feel that God’s way is right, but His faithfulness doesn’t depend on our vacillating emotions, rather on His unchanging Word. It’s not a matter of how we feel but of what God says.”
This was the peace that Mary found. When Gabriel announced to Mary that she was chosen by God to give birth to the Messiah, her plans for the future were instantly changed. But rather than resisting the good plan of God for her life, Mary responded in surrender: “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38).
As we surrender to the Lord, we discover that the things — material or immaterial — that once seemed so important to us to grasp, fade in significance as we discover the sufficiency of Christ. David, who lived a thousand years before the birth of Christ, expressed complete contentment in the presence and person of the Lord. “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness” (Psalm 17:15).
Cast your cares on Him
Sometimes stress comes in one large package — an overwhelming financial need, a life-changing medical diagnosis, the death of a loved one. These heavy burdens can fall on our shoulders like a ton of bricks.
But sometimes stress comes in a thousand small packages — the bills piling up just beyond your income, the multiplication of “minor” frustrations, consecutive days of pain with no diagnosis, the slow goodbye of caring for a loved one suffering with Alzheimer’s. The accumulated weight of these burdens can crush us just as surely as the large ones can.
Whether your sources of stress are large or accumulated — or both — your shoulders were not designed to handle them. Peace comes as you cast your burdens on the Lord. “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
Jesus coming to our world, His presence as “God with us,” is what gives us the assurance that He understands the stress we carry and that He can help us with our needs. Hebrews 4:15–16 assures and challenges us, “For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
Peace is possible
In whatever circumstances you find yourself this Christmas season, remember that peace is more than a quiet environment or smoothly executed plans. Real peace comes from knowing Jesus. On the very night Jesus was born, He showed us that peace doesn’t require perfect conditions.
This Christmas, when you feel burdened by “unsilent nights,” remember that peace is possible — not because life will suddenly calm down, but because Jesus is here with us in the noise. Even in a noisy world, we can experience peace.
Dr. Paul Chappell is the Senior Pastor of Lancaster Baptist Church and the President of West Coast Baptist College in Southern California. You can follow him on X and Instagram @PaulChappell and can read his blog at paulchappell.com. His new book, Songs in the Night, leads readers on a journey through the Christmas story by way of five beloved carols. Read it this Christmas season to be encouraged by the love and grace of Christ for you.
