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Peace like a river
It was a powerful image for an arid land. To the prophet, peace wasn’t simply the absence of conflict—a quiet or stillness. Peace was an irresistible, cool, and steady force that nourished all life. It revived the depleted and dispirited. Unaffected by human boundaries, it coursed through the nations, connecting them and sustaining them with the same living waters. Most important, it came from God.
Peace like a river (see Isaiah 66:12) doesn’t evaporate with the end of the Christmas season after we’ve packed away holiday decorations and gotten back to the business of the new year. “On earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14) continues to flow through our thoughts and lives and communities. But because it is a spiritual power, it requires spiritual discernment to recognize it and draw from it healing and restoration.
Can such power really be present when the headlines blare both international confrontation and local conflict? Is there a peace that is a positive, enduring presence, and not just a lull between violent outbreaks? How do we access it when we’re afraid or discouraged?
Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.
January 11, 2016 issue
View Issue-
Letters
Barbara Goll, John Varnes, Julie-Anne Eastman
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Banishing fear with Love
Deborah Huebsch
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Our true identity
Paul M. Ngugi
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God cannot be bullied
Judy Cole
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‘The alterative, healing effect of Truth’
Debra Corry Brandt
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Beside ‘still waters’
Suzanne Smedley
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Nothing is too hard for God
Kathryn A. T. Knox
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Burns healed
Ellen Richardson
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Healing of aftereffects of fall
Sally Smith
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Hiking with freedom
Fenja Gerpott
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We thank Thee, heavenly Father
Photograph by Morey Zuber
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Fearless Guatemala’s lessons for Latin America
The Monitor’s Editorial Board
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God’s goodness negates corruption
Keith S. Collins
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Peace like a river
Robin Hoagland