Today’s devotional is by Becky Watson

“Song lyrics are fascinating as you can tell a lot about the writer and their surroundings. ‘It Came upon a Midnight Clear’ has a fascinating story, and one that is, in fact, very appropriate for today.

The carol was written in 1849 by Edmund Hamilton Sears, a minister from Massachusetts. He penned it as he recovered from a bad illness, during which he reportedly had a breakdown. Like today, there was a lot of political and economic unrest at the time. The US was reeling in the aftermath of the Mexican War; there were rumblings of revolutions across Europe; and the issue of slavery was beginning to be a burning topic across the states. 

Sears was incredibly aware of how distracted society had become and was concerned that people weren’t turning their minds towards Christ and the message of peace. Thus, ‘It Came upon a Midnight Clear’ was written. One verse in particular stands out:

But with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love-song which they bring; –
Oh hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing! 

Sears tells the world to ‘hush’! He longed for people to stop and listen to the songs of peace and of love. How different would the world be if we all stopped our worrying, complaining, arguing and talking to listen to God’s Word? 

Romans 5:1 tells us, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Peace is offered to us when we believe in Christ as our Lord and Saviour – it is a blessing from God! So many search for peace and never find it, yet God offers it to us freely when we trust in Him.

Are you searching for peace today?