From: Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 655):
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you;
he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Psalm 55:22
Today, on the second Sunday of Advent, people light up the candle of Peace. We haven’t had peace in Ukraine for over ten years, yet over the past 655 days, we’ve had plenty of opportunities to experience Peace that surpasses all understanding. When we woke up from explosions on February 24, 2022, when we were evacuating from Kyiv, when we lived through blackouts last winter, when we decided to return to Kyiv – those were uncertain times, yet that is when I felt the deepest Peace of God. In those times, when you couldn’t base your decisions on anything you knew before, when the world as you knew it was gone, when the circumstances tried to bring you down, His voice said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27) It is His Peace that has sustained us through the darkest of times and what keeps us going today. We long for His Peace to reign in Ukraine, but until that day, we will hold onto the Peace He grants our hearts when we come to Him.
Voice of Ukraine 
2 responses to “12/11/2023 – It is His Peace that has sustained us through the darkest of times and what keeps us going today”
Thank you for your articulating, with such conviction, what we all should know and cherish! Your faithfulness to the ultimate Source of Faithfulness is a great encouragement to all of us.
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From: Sergei Nakul (pastor of Big City Church in Kyiv and military chaplain):“Rejoice for the Earth!” Christ has come! Welcome the King of kings! “. Praise is in Big City Church, Kyiv – Церква Великого Міста, Київ ! Let not the darkness of war overshadow the holiday of Christmas, but the light of Christmas Christ illuminates the darkness of war and warms us with the warmth of hope. Because Christ is our hope. A living hope. Have a blessed Advent!
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