Day 1 — Peace Begins Where Life Seems Cut Down
Isaiah 11:1
“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse…”
Reflection
Advent begins in the place we least expect it: a stump.
Not a flourishing tree.
Not a strong kingdom.
A stump.
Isaiah describes David’s line as cut to the ground, politically dead, spiritually barren, and historically defeated. Yet he insists that life is still hidden in the roots.
This is God’s way.
He brings life from death, hope from endings, and new beginnings out of old regrets.
Your life may feel like that stump.
Your “what if” questions may be loud:
What if this is as good as it gets?
What if my marriage stays stuck?
What if the job never stabilizes?
What if the economy collapses?
Isaiah 11 begins by saying:
Peace starts when you realize that God heals dead places.
His promise is not “try harder” but “watch Me resurrect what looks finished.”
The Advent story begins with a shoot—small, tender, quiet—yet destined to bear fruit.
Prayer
Lord, meet me in the places that feel cut down.
Help me believe that Your life grows where mine seems finished.
Make me patient and hopeful as I wait for Your promises to sprout. Amen.
Day 2 — The King Whose Character Holds Everything Together
Isaiah 11:2–5
Reflection
Isaiah describes a King anointed with the sevenfold Spirit—a symbol of perfection, completeness, and divine approval. This King sees what others ignore:
He judges with truth, not appearances.
He hears those no one else listens to.
He advocates for the poor, defends the meek, and exposes corruption.
This is not how power normally works.
Human leaders—ancient kings or modern celebrities—tend to serve themselves. Even the most intelligent, educated, or charismatic leaders eventually fail because character fails.
Your sermon makes a sobering connection:
Human knowledge is not the answer.
The 20th century—history’s bloodiest—was filled with brilliant but destructive leaders who promised peace yet delivered oppression and death.
Christ is different.
Righteousness is His belt.
Faithfulness is His stability.
His character is what holds His kingdom—and your life—together.
If your peace rises and falls based on news headlines, financial markets, political events, or your own ability to control outcomes, your peace will always be fragile.
But if your peace rests on Christ’s character, it becomes unshakeable.
Prayer
King Jesus, anchor my heart to Your faithful character.
Free me from trusting in temporary saviors.
Shape my desires, my decisions, and my fears by Your righteousness. Amen.
Day 3 — The Impossible Peace Only Jesus Can Give
Isaiah 11:6–8
Reflection
Isaiah paints a picture so fantastical it sounds like Narnia:
Wolves with lambs.
Leopards with goats.
Lions eating straw.
Children playing safely near cobras.
This is not poetic exaggeration.
It is theological reality.
Jesus creates a world where fear has no place.
But think about the way we try to achieve peace today:
We build better fences.
Better laws.
Better safety systems.
Better technology.
Better education.
All good things—but none of them can change the nature of a wolf or a lion.
Your sermon put it bluntly:
“What would happen if you dropped a lamb into the lion enclosure at the Memphis Zoo?”
We know exactly what would happen.
Human systems can restrain violence, but they can’t eliminate it.
They can manage fear, but they can’t cure it.
They can promise peace, but they can’t deliver it.
Only Jesus can change the nature of the world.
Only Jesus can change the nature of the human heart.
Advent reminds us:
He did this by entering the enclosure Himself—
as the willing Lamb torn apart so we could be safe with God.
Prayer
Prince of Peace, thank You for entering the danger I created.
Change my heart, quiet my fears, and help me trust Your powerful gentleness. Amen.
Day 4 — Peace Flows From the Knowledge of the Lord
Isaiah 11:9–10
Reflection
Isaiah reveals the secret of the world’s future peace:
“The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
Not information.
Not education.
Not technological achievement.
Not political reform.
Knowledge of the Lord.
The world today is drowning in information—nearly 100 zettabytes of it.
That’s more knowledge than humanity has ever possessed, stacked to the moon and back if printed on DVDs.
And yet:
We still fight.
We still fear.
We still harm each other.
We still grasp for control.
Why?
Because information can’t heal a violent heart.
Only the presence of Christ can.
Jesus Himself said it plainly:
“This is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3)
To know God is to know peace.
To ignore God is to embrace chaos.
During Advent, we are called to stop refreshing the feed of lesser saviors—political, technological, financial, emotional—and rest our hope in the King who stands as a signal for the nations, drawing hungry hearts to Himself.
Prayer
Lord, fill my life with the knowledge of who You are.
Quiet the noise of worldly hopes and deepen my hunger for Your presence. Amen.
Day 5 — The Peace That Comes From the Lamb Who Was Slain
Reflecting on Isaiah 11 through the lens of Christ
Reflection
Isaiah 11 is not a sweet holiday picture.
It is a radical declaration that peace is impossible without Christ.
Political leaders will fail.
Economic strategies will fail.
Human knowledge will fail.
Even our best intentions will fail—Jeremiah says we cry “Peace, peace” when there is no peace.
So God did what only God can do.
He sent His Son into the lion’s den.
He dropped the Lamb of God into the enclosure filled with human sin, violence, greed, and death.
They tore Him apart.
But His death brought peace with God.
This is Advent peace:
Christ is our peace—first with God, then with others, and finally within our own hearts.
Isaiah promises a day when everything wrong with the world will be made right.
A day when all hostility ends.
A day when every “what if” question is swallowed up in the knowledge of God.
Until that day, your peace is not the absence of trouble—it is the presence of Christ.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, You are my peace.
Thank You for entering my chaos, carrying my sin, and conquering my fears.
Make me a person who reflects Your peace to a fearful world. Amen.