I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day - Mercy Me

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men

And thought how as the day had come
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men

And in despair I bowed my head
"There is no peace on earth", I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, goodwill to men

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead nor does He sleep
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, goodwill to men

The third and fourth verses here are amazing. I can so identify with the sentiments of crying out in despair there is no peace on earth. That hate is strong - and mocks the idea of peace on earth and goodwill to men. It's so easy when we are overwhelmed by life, or feel like we are being dumped on, beat up, etc, to not see peace, to not feel at peace, to feel like hate is winning over peace.

And yet, when we continue listening to the bells, as they continue to ring out loud, we realize that God isn't dead. He isn't sleeping. In the end wrong will fail, right will win. Peace wins. What a comfort to know that no matter what is happening, peace wins.

PS - I wrote all of this before my husband told me the story behind this song. It's pretty cool, and worth checking out here.