Knowing God's Character: Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)

What if true peace in your family could be found not by eliminating chaos, but by anchoring your home in Jesus, the Prince of Peace?

In this final episode of 7 Minute Devotions for Busy Parents for 2025, host Christen Clark wraps up the Isaiah 9:6 series with a timely and inspiring look at how Christian parenting can thrive even in the busiest, most stressful holiday seasons. Discover the biblical definition of peace, practical encouragement for faith at home, and why embracing Jesus as the Prince of Peace can transform your family life and discipleship amid all the holiday chaos.

As we close out the year, thank you for listening and being faithful to spending seven minutes a couple times each week to refocus on how God wants to use you as a parent in your child's life. We'll see you back in 2026!

[00:00:31] Exploring the true meaning of "Prince of Peace"
 [00:04:44] 3 Practical tips for finding peace

Resources:
Instagram: @7minutedevotions, @christenclark
Family Podcast: @collidekidspodcast

Transcript

Christen Clark [00:00:02]:

Welcome back to 7 Minute Devotions for Busy Parents. I'm Christen Clark. I'm your host and I am so glad you're here. If you're listening in December, then you already know how chaotic this season can get with school events and family gatherings and schedules changing and routines getting tossed in the air. Sometimes Christmas feels peaceful only in the greeting cards. But today we're wrapping up our Isaiah 9. 6 series with the name that many of us desperately need right now. Jesus is the Prince of Peace.

Christen Clark [00:00:38]:

We've been looking at this famous prophecy for the past few episodes about the coming Messiah. And this is a famous prophecy you hear in lots of songs and see on a lot of cards and plaques around Christmas time especially. So listen as I read Isaiah 9 verse 6 again, and then I'm also gonna read 7 as well. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. And the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace, there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from the time on and forever.

Christen Clark [00:01:25]:

The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. Judah is standing on the edge of destruction and they're so afraid and unsure of what their future will hold. Isaiah spoke these four names of the coming Messiah as a promise that God was still faithful, still present, still acting on their behalf. So when the people heard the title Prince of Peace, they wouldn't have thought calm vibes and stress free living? No, they would have thought of the word shalom. The Hebrew word shalom is more than just quiet. It's more than just calm. It means so much more than absence of conflict. Shalom meant wholeness, completion, health, soundness of mind and restoration.

Christen Clark [00:02:11]:

It meant everything finally put back where it belongs. I don't know, for any of you who are super organized and you feel that sense of shalom when everything is put back where it belongs, well, that's what that means. Jesus is claiming this title for himself. And he could, because he embodied it, he fulfilled it, and he extended it to us. One of the clearest passages is John 14:27 where Jesus said, peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives you do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Christen Clark [00:02:48]:

He doesn't give worldly peace, which actually depends mostly on circumstances. Jesus gives his peace, which exists even when the storm is raging. When I think of Jesus as the Prince of Peace, my mind always goes to that moment in the boat with the disciples. And the storm flares up and there's waves. They're violently going around the boat. The wind was howling. The disciples were convinced that they were about to die. And what was Jesus doing? He was taking a nap.

Christen Clark [00:03:17]:

That is the ultimate picture of peace. Not because the storm was absent and everything was calm, but. But because Jesus wasn't controlled by it. He had peace within himself. And then he extended it outward to his terrified friends. He calmed their hearts first, and then he calmed the waves. Even the storm obeyed the Prince of Peace. So let's talk a little bit more about how Jesus is the Prince of Peace first.

Christen Clark [00:03:44]:

Jesus brings peace with God. This is the deepest and most important peace there is. Reconciliation with God through Jesus' sacrifice. I mentioned in one of the earlier episodes that Leviticus is one of my favorite books of the Bible. Because in Leviticus we see that God is making a way for an imperfect group of people to draw near to a holy God. But it required sacrifice through Jesus. The final sacrifice. That peace is permanent.

Christen Clark [00:04:15]:

Our sin doesn't control us anymore. We don't have to earn God's grace. We just have to receive it. Another way that Jesus brings peace is through the Holy Spirit. In the same chapter we talked about earlier in John 14, Jesus promised the Holy Spirit that he would be a counselor, a comforter, and a guide. And isn't that what we need in our darkest moments? I want someone to comfort me, but I also need guidance. I also need counsel. And.

Christen Clark [00:04:41]:

And that's what the Holy Spirit gives to us. We have comfort when we're exhausted and counsel when we're unsure what to do next. We have wisdom and guidance for big decisions and strength when we're stretched too thin. That's what the Holy Spirit does for us. Peace isn't passive. It's an active presence of God working in us, speaking to us and strengthening us. And Jesus also brings peace in relationships. One of the most remarkable parts of Jesus ministry is.

Christen Clark [00:05:08]:

Is how he lived at peace with people that others avoided, like the Pharisees or sinners or Samaritans or the stories of the interactions he had with Romans and Gentiles. He even interacted with women and children when it wasn't culturally relevant to do that. He crossed these cultural lines again and again. He ignored these unspoken rules. He loved people that no one else would love. Even in his death, he prayed for the people who were putting him to death. That is Peacemaking, it's not avoidance or isolation. It's not numbing out.

Christen Clark [00:05:41]:

Peacemaking is courageous. There's this phrase we hear a lot today on social media, and I've heard it in some music and different things. It's when you're protecting your peace. Have you heard that before? I mean, yes, boundaries matter. And Scripture tells us to guard our hearts. And there are relationships where distance is wise. But if protecting my peace becomes an excuse to avoid reconciliation or to ignore conviction or to isolate other people out of fear, then we've misunderstood the concept of peace because we are not the source of peace. Jesus is.

Christen Clark [00:06:19]:

And sometimes he calls us to rebuild a relationship. Sometimes he calls us to set a healthy boundary or forgive someone without stepping back into an old pattern. And sometimes he's calling us to reach out to someone who needs his peace the most. We can be peacemakers because we are not the ones holding peace together. He is. He is the prince of peace. You know, my family has walked through some really hard seasons over the past few years, and we've prayed for peace for just for life to go back to normal, for things to calm down, for everything to be fixed. But sometimes peace looks different than we expect.

Christen Clark [00:06:55]:

I've learned that sometimes peace is joy in a new circumstance. Sometimes peace is trusting God with a situation that won't resolve immediately. Sometimes peace is being able to sleep even when the waves are crashing around the boat. Parents, Jesus doesn't promise a storm free life for you, but he does promise his presence and his peace is stronger than the storm.

Christen Clark [00:07:29]:

Let's pray together. Jesus, thank you so much for being our prince of peace. Thank you that we can call you that, that your peace is whole and deep and steady, that we can trust in you whatever storm we face. God, I pray that you would help us to receive your peace today, to trust you in our circumstances and God, that we would be the ones to reconcile and reflect your peace in our homes and our relationships. God, I pray you would calm our hearts right now. For anyone that's listening that needs calmness and peace in their lives today, would you just touch them and guide their steps and help us all to follow after you. In Jesus name, Amen.

Christen Clark [00:08:09]:

Well, thank you so much for joining me. I hope this devotion reminds you that peace isn't something you have to create or protect, and it's something you get to trust. And if this Podcast blesses you, I'd be honored if you'd continue to support by praying for us and following us on social media. Leave a rating and a review Whichever episode you've enjoyed, let me know. I'd love to hear from you about what this Podcast has done. This is actually our last episode for 2025. It has been such a pleasure to share this time with you and I am looking forward to starting back up in 2026. So I hope you guys have an amazing Christmas and a very happy New Year.

Christen Clark [00:08:47]:

And as always, parents keep showing up. Remember, God is with you.