Dec 11, 2023
We all want to forget the year 2020, especially those spring
months when the COVID virus and the fear of the unknown began
to move around the globe. However, in the midst of that pandemic we
learned where people go to find peace. The Bible.
During the hardest moments of 2020, Bible searches soared online
and a record number of people turned to Scripture for passages
addressing fear, healing, and justice. The YouVersion Bible app saw
searches increase by 80%, totaling nearly 600 million worldwide.
YouVersion found Bobby Gruenewald said,
"Through every hardship, people continue to seek God and turn
to the Bible for strength, peace, and hope. While 2020 is a year so
many say they'd like to forget, we see it as a year to remember how
God used the Bible app to help so many people who were searching
for answers."
Overall, the app tracked 43.6 billion chapters of the Bible read in
2020, with half a billion verses shared, its highest on record. So
for many people, reading Scripture is a way that they find peace in
their moments of stress and anxiety. What do you do to find
peace?
Finding peace is something that a lot of people, maybe even you,
are trying to find. The unfortunate reality is we end up pursuing a
lot of unhealthy comforts which in the end don't bring peace, and
instead hook us into habits that hurt. This is one of the reason
why Scripture admonishes us to practice discipline, and self
control in our pursuit of finding the peace that only Jesus can
give. This is why this Christmas season we are practicing some of
the disciplines of advent.
Advent challenges us to make space for Jesus in our lives by
preparing for his coming through worship, prayer, fasting,
Scripture reading and acts of generosity. On Sunday we will
continue with part two of our advent sermon series by discovering
how we can find true peace in our lives when we make room for Jesus
in our chaotic lives. To join us on the journey give a listen to
part two of Make Room.