We all know that the holiday season can be a busy time of year. In the middle of the hustle and bustle of this season, it is good for all of us to slow down and think about others. It’s a good time to stop and say something to someone else.

We can donate toys, serve the homeless, fill a shoebox for children in need, go caroling in an assisted living home, give presents to a family who needs them for Christmas, or give an extra-large tip to the person waiting on us in a restaurant. Giving a kind word to someone else can be a precious gift. Saying something encouraging can bring an added blessing into a weary life. Christmas is a great time to give to someone in need.

Many of us have needs. Whether we have some very basic needs or some incredibly complex challenges this Christmas, all of us can cling to the words of today’s Scripture: “Don’t be anxious about anything.” God knows you have need of these things. Instead of being anxious, pray and ask God to meet your needs. In our passage for today, Paul says that when we turn our burdens, trials, and needs over to the Lord in prayer that “the peace of God that passes all understanding guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Whatever it is you’re facing this season, talk to God about it. He doesn’t want you to worry about it; God wants you to surrender those worries to him. Through his son, the Prince of Peace, He will give you what you need.

Maybe this Christmas will be better for you than recent ones. Maybe you got a bonus, a monetary gift, the proceeds of a sale, or a sum of money from an inheritance – something you weren’t expecting this year. How could you use a portion of that to bless somebody else this Christmas? By giving away some of what God has so richly blessed you with, you could be the answer to someone else’s prayer for peace. God uses people to meet people’s needs. If you are available and willing, He could use you this holiday season to bring peace to someone’s life by meeting a specific burden. Maybe it is as much as stopping to share an intentionally kind and encouraging word.

Whether you go into this Christmas with heavy challenges or with extra blessings, thank God for the need or for the abundance. And if you are in the abundance category this year, consider what you could do to bring peace to somebody else by meeting a need they have.

Today: Think of someone who needs a little peace and see what you can do to be an ambassador of God’s peace to them.