Your Happy Place

A series on Isaiah 9:6 – The Child of Prophecy
 – Prince of Peace
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Isaiah 11:6-9; Revelation 21:1-8 

[Jesus was a child of prophecy. The Christmas story in the Bible was predicted in many Old Testament prophecies but the centerpiece of these is Isaiah 9:6. It was written nearly six hundred years before Jesus’ birth. In this series we’re going to look at the meaning and implications of this amazing prophecy.]

 

When growing up, my family took many vacations in the Smokey Mountains as well as the Rocky Mountains. Both are beautiful and majestic in their own way. There is something calming and particularly peaceful about the mountains.

 

For many people, the mountains are their “happy place”. A place where you find peace and serenity. A quiet place where you can think without interruption. A place where you can reflect on life. A place where you connect with yourself and with God.

 

It’s hard to say where Isaiah’s happy place was, or if he even had one. However, he did have an encounter with God in the temple that ultimately led to his calling as a prophet. The Lord spoke to Isaiah, and he responded, “Here am I. Send me!”.

 

As a result, Isaiah was Judah’s prophet during a chaotic time. There was a threat of an impending coup by Israel, and Assyria was aggressively expanding. Despite this, Isaiah trusted in the Lord’s Messianic prophesies which gave him hope and peace.

 

In fact, the word of the Lord came to Isaiah about a newborn child that would be called the “Prince of Peace”. In this context, he prophesied a vision of a world filled with peace, where predators and prey would live together in harmony. He said that “a little child will lead them” to establish the Messianic kingdom.

 

Hundreds of years later, shepherds were watching their sheep one night when the birth of that “little child” was gloriously proclaimed by a “multitude of the heavenly hosts”. It was an announcement for the long-awaited Messiah to be born in Bethlehem.

 

¹⁴ “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”        NLT   Luke 2

 

“Peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased”. It sounds like a truly happy place. One that doesn’t depend on circumstances. A place where you could experience peace from God, with God and of God. A peace that “surpasses all understanding”.

 

⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.         ESV    Philippians 4

 

Like Isaiah, John also prophesied in Revelation 21 a vision of a future world. On this occasion, it’s when Jesus returns for the second time and dwells among us to establish his kingdom. In this vision, John drew a picture of peace.

 

⁴‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

It is here that “He will wipe every tear from their eyes”.     NIV

 

But this peace is not “pie in the sky” only to be experienced in the new Jerusalem. Jesus made the following promise of a gift which is still available for us today.

 

²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. NIV    John 14

 

Where is your happy place? Where do you connect with God?

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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Radically Different

Hebrews 10:19-25

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2010%3A19-25&version=NIV;PHILLIPS

 

When I was in grade school and my teacher said to take out a piece of paper and draw

anything you want – I invariably would draw a mountain scene like the one to the left. For me, the mountains represented something bigger than myself that provided strength, security and safety. It was a safe place for me to live vicariously through my drawing. I found peace, purpose and a place in the world.

 

What I never considered though, were the lives of the people who lived in the valleys, the hollows and the peaks of those mountains. Because they were people, no doubt they all had some struggle or issue. Maybe it was poverty, an addiction, a broken relationship or work. Like me, they needed a safe place. We all do.

 

I like how J.B. Phillips wrote this passage in Hebrews 10.

 

So by virtue of the blood of Jesus, you and I may now have courage to enter the holy of holies by way of the one who died and is yet alive, who has made for us a holy means of entry by himself passing through the curtain, that is, his own human nature. Further, since we have a great High Priest set over the household of God, let us draw near…

 

The writer of Hebrews is speaking of the Holy of Holies which is the inner chamber of the Temple where only the High Priest could go on the Day of Atonement. It was where the actual presence of God resided! It was a safe place; not to hide from the world, but to become engaged with the world.

 

…In this confidence let us hold on to the hope that we profess without the slightest hesitation—for he is utterly dependable—and let us think of one another and how we can encourage each other to love and do good deeds. And let us not hold aloof from our church meetings, as some do. Let us do all we can to help one another’s faith…               J.B. Phillips

 

Jesus is our mountain scene; our safe place. From there, we are called to draw nearer to Him, to encourage each other to acts of love and to do all we can to help one another’s faith.

 

What do you need to do to spend time in your safe place; in the very presence of God? Whatever it is, make it a priority today. If you do, your life will be radically different from those who don’t.