Hope in the Calling: Peace in the Classroom

"Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. "

-Psalm 62:5-7

All week we’ve been holding onto hope: hope for our students, for our classrooms, for our coworkers, for ourselves. Hope that God is at work in the unfinished stories of our classrooms, the unspoken places of our hearts. Today, as we bring this week to a close, we remember that hope never leaves us alone, it leads somewhere. It prepares us for Someone.

Advent has a beautiful progression, a comforting and steady unfolding, and this week it shifts. Hope prepares us for peace. The second candle, the Bethlehem Candle, the Candle of Peace, reminds us that hope is not the end of the story.

Hope softens the soil of our hearts; peace grows in it.

Just as Bethlehem was the quiet, unexpected place where the Prince of Peace Himself entered the world, our own quiet moments this weekend can become places where God’s peace settles in again as we take refuge in Him.

The peace of Christ doesn’t wait for perfect conditions. It doesn’t require the classroom to calm down or the to-do list to shrink. Peace is not announced after problems are fixed, but comes right in the middle of them. It comes just as He did in Bethlehem, surprising and utterly near. The God who promises is the God who comes.

Today as you pause between the week behind you and the week ahead, let this be your turning point: Let the hope you’ve carried prepare you for the peace Christ longs to give. Let hope settle in your soul to make room for the peace promised to us.

Tomorrow we’ll step into a new week with a new focus: Peace in the Classroom. But tonight, rest in this: The God you’ve hoped in all week is the same God who offers peace to you now. That’s the promise of the Bethlehem Candle: peace doesn’t wait for perfect conditions, peace arrives in the middle of real life. Peace, not found in the absence of chaos, but found in the arrival of Christ.

From Hope to Peace

Who around you, student, colleague, or family member, might need you to share peace with them this week?

Prayer

Prince of Peace, thank You for carrying me through this week of hope. As I step into a new week and light the Bethlehem Candle, settle my heart in Your presence. Quiet the places inside me that continue to feel hurried, restless, or stretched thin. Teach me to notice where You are bringing peace, peace that does not depend on perfect conditions, but on Your faithful nearness. Let Your peace shape the way I teach, listen, respond, and walk alongside others. Fill me so deeply that peace overflows from me to my students, my colleagues, and my home. Be my steadiness, my calm, and my confidence in the days ahead. Amen.