The Peace Nobody Requested

On Christmas Eve, 1914, along the muddy trenches near Ypres, Belgium, German soldiers began placing candles on small trees above their parapets. Then came the singing — Stille Nacht drifting across no man's land. British soldiers, huddled in frozen earth, heard the melody and recognized it: Silent Night. Nobody on either side had requested a ceasefire. No general had ordered peace. Yet by Christmas morning, enemies were climbing out of trenches, shaking hands, exchanging cigarettes and chocolate, even kicking around a football between the shell craters.

Peace came uninvited.

King Ahaz faced a similar moment. God Himself offered the anxious king a sign — anything, from the depths of Sheol to the heights of heaven. Ahaz refused, wrapping his unbelief in pious language: "I will not put the Lord to the test." He had already placed his trust in Assyrian military alliances. He didn't want God's sign because he didn't want God's terms.

But the Almighty would not be refused. "The Lord Himself will give you a sign," Isaiah declared. A child would be born. His name would be Immanuel — God with us. Whether Ahaz welcomed it or not, God's presence was coming into the world.

The Most High does not wait for our invitation. Like that unexpected peace in the trenches, He breaks through our defenses, crosses our battle lines, and meets us — even when we never thought to ask.