Peace

(Before reading this post, please read Philippians 4:4-9.)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

Isn't this a beautiful passage? It talks about God's peace and how He will always give it to us. But isn't that just the above verses? What about the rest of the section, the context? What does that have to do with peace? Well, let's start at the beginning....

This passage starts by telling us some things we should do (v. 4-5): rejoice and be a good example to others. Easier said than done, especially when you are going through a tough time and feel like complaining instead of rejoicing, and lashing out instead of being a good example. Well, that's where verses 6-7 come in. When you feel distracted from God by worries or anger or sin or whatever, the solution is to go to Him. Pray that He will give you rest from whatever is filling your mind and thank Him for it, showing that you trust that He will do what you ask. Now verses 8-9. These show the results of God's peace in our lives. We begin to focus more on God, think about righteous, godly things, and obey His words! Then we can go back to what verses 4-5 say: to rejoice and be a good example. God's peace can give us the motivation to do that. And remember: the Lord is near (v. 5). He is ready to give you this peace, if only you will ask for it!

Now that we (hopefully) understand this passage better, let's ask some questions that come to mind when we read it.

1. What does God's peace do? I've already explained how it helps us to focus on God (and, obviously, how it gives us peace from worries), but what else does it do?

- It helps us trust in God. When we ask God for His peace, the Bible says to do so “with thanksgiving” – we should thank Him for it, showing that we know He will do as He promised.

- The Lord's peace gives us joy (v. 4). He takes all anxieties from our minds, allowing us to see His love in our lives and rejoice!

- It gives us a way out, an escape from all the burdens weighing down on us. God wants us to give them to Him so He can take care of them and give us rest.

2. From what does the Lord's peace guard our hearts and minds? - From worry. The passage says “do not be anxious about anything” and then gives the solution to our anxiety. (1 Peter 5:7.) - From sins after we repent from them. The Holy Spirit convicts us of these sins, and after we repent and are forgiven, God gives us peace from them (Psalm 103:12). - From temptations. 1 Cor. 10:13 says that God won't let us be tempted more than we can bear and that He will give us a way out. When you are tempted, ask God for peace from it! He will help! - From wrong thoughts and deeds. As verses 8-9 say, God gives us peace so we can think and do righteous things – implying that He will protect us from unrighteous things. - From anger. The verses before this passage talk about two women who were having a disagreement. Their anger at each other was hurting the unity in the church. They couldn't concentrate on God because they were too mad at each other. Is your anger distracting you from the Lord? Ask for His peace from it! - From fear. Sometimes we get distracted from the Lord because of our fear. But no matter what we are afraid of, He understands! He knows what is bothering us, and He knows how to get rid of it! Ask for His peace, and He will take away all your fear. “Perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18). - From anything that gets in the way of our relationship with God. He wants us to be close to Him, but there are things that get in the way. He can give us peace from these things so we can put our priorities in order, with Him first of all.

3. Why does Paul say at the end of the passage to do what he does? Aren't we supposed to follow Jesus' example?

- Since Paul isn't alive, we can understand that he is telling us to follow the examples of trustworthy, mature Christians. But again, aren't we supposed to follow Jesus' example? Well, trustworthy, mature Christians are following Jesus' example! Paul is essentially telling us to do as Jesus would do. One way to do that is to study other Christian's examples. It is often easier to observe others and follow them than to follow someone we have never seen. However, we must make sure that the people we observe are doing what's right. We cannot forget that they aren't perfect examples. We need to keep in mind that not everything they do will be correct.

4. What does “will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” mean?

- We have to be Christians, have Jesus in our hearts, to receive God's peace. “Peace of God” implies “peace with God.” We have to be right with Him, we have to be saved, to have His peace. How can we be saved so as to have this peace that takes away all our worries? We need to confess our sins and believe in our hearts that Jesus died and rose again to save us from those sins (Rom. 10:9). If we do so, He will be with us always (“the Lord is near”), ready to give us peace (“And the God of peace will be with you”).

5. Is there a limit to God's peace?

- No! He is ready to give us peace whenever we ask for it. He will never run out, and He will never stop giving it to us. He is so generous!

6. What if I ask for God's peace and I don't feel it?

- The first thing to remember if this happens is that it's not God's fault! He keeps His promises, including this promise of peace. There are multiple reasons you might not have His peace.

• Maybe you aren't a Christian. There are some promises in the Bible that are for everyone, and others that apply only to believers. This one is the second kind.

• You may not be feeling God's peace because you don't trust He will give it to you. I understand! Sometimes it is hard to trust someone you can't see or touch with something so important. Just remember everything He has already done for you, and it will be easier to see why you should have faith in Him.

• You also might be asking for peace from something that God is doing in your life. Maybe you're feeling conviction. Conviction is the Holy Spirit telling you you've done something wrong. In this case, God will not take it away because you need this. He knows what's best!

Just remember: “The Lord is near” (v. 5). He is ready to help when you feel overcome by something. Ask for His peace, thank Him, and trust Him! He is there for you. If you rely on God, He can help you through anything and everything. “And the God of peace will be with you” (v. 9).