Peace Beyond the Packaging: Discovering Lasting Peace

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When I was choosing the coloring page to accompany this devotional in my book, Releasing Anxiety, I paused longer than usual. I wasn’t just looking for something “pretty” or calming. I wanted an image that could quietly preach the same truth as the devotional without using words.

The devotional is rooted in John 14:27, where Jesus speaks directly to anxious hearts and offers something the world cannot manufacture or replicate—peace of mind and heart. Not a strategy. Not a quick fix. A gift. His gift.

That word gift became the doorway.

The image I chose is simple at first glance: a young boy holding a beautifully wrapped present. But the longer you look, the more it unsettles expectations. He isn’t giddy or bouncing with anticipation. He isn’t tearing into the wrapping paper. Instead, he’s standing still—alert, well-dressed, and sincere. His eyes aren’t locked onto the gift in his hands. They’re focused on the giver.

That detail mattered to me.

It immediately takes me to Christmas. A season that is meant to be about connection—about God stepping into the world—but so often becomes about task lists, expectations, pressure, and performance. We talk about the gift, but we rush past the Giver. We’re surrounded by noise, advertisements, opinions, and urgency, all shouting that this thing or that solution will finally make us feel better.

Christmas is not the only place this happens.

The world we live in is a constant marketplace. We are bombarded with self-help books, productivity systems, supplements, programs, and promises. Each one is beautifully packaged. Each one whispers, This will fix it. This will calm you. This will make the anxiety go away.

And just like the gift in the boy’s hands, they can be incredibly enticing.

When I colored this image, I leaned into that tension. I made the gift visually appealing—something you’d naturally want to focus on. I wanted to invite a quiet question: Given your situation right now, what would you hope is inside that box? Is there something on your wish list that you’re convinced would finally solve the problem you’re facing?

But then there’s the boy’s posture. He has the gift in his possession. It's his, ready to tear into—but he’s patiently looking at the giver.

That choice is the heart of the message.

Peace doesn’t come from what’s wrapped up in our hands. It comes from where our eyes are fixed. Jesus doesn’t just offer peace as a concept; He offers Himself as the source. And when He speaks those words in John 14, He’s not promising a life without storms. He’s promising a presence that doesn’t leave us alone in them.
That’s why the boy’s expression matters to me. There’s trust there. Respect. Relationship. He understands—whether fully or instinctively—that the value isn’t just in the gift, but in who it came from.

This coloring page is an invitation to slow down and examine where we’re looking. When anxiety rises, are we scanning the shelves of the world for the next solution? Or are we willing to lift our eyes and reconnect with the One who gives peace that isn’t fragile, temporary, or dependent on circumstances?

As you color, my hope is that the image gently redirects your attention—not away from your needs, but toward your source. Because the world will always offer more boxes, more fixes, more noise. But peace—the kind that settles the heart—has already been given.

And it comes from Him.

Access the entire study in Releasing Anxiety. Click here.