"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Phil 4:6-7
What is this peace of God, and why does it surpass all understanding? Very appealing, but sounds kind of abstract too. But all of us were meant to have it.
This peace of God must be understood in its context in the passage. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God..." The peace of God is the peace that comes with knowing that God is in control of everything, and having brought all our requests to Him, all our sorrows, all our worries, all our pains, all our uncertainties-we rest completely assured and certain that God is in control, and that He is working for good.
And why does it surpass all understanding? One way to look at it is that in the midst of things which may be going wrong all over the place, we can still have an unshakeable peace, and this is a peace that even people who have everything in this world do not have. How, despite our fallen human nature and our tendency to doubt and worry, God can teach us to trust and have this kind of peace is truly amazing. Another way to also look at it is that this is a kind of peace that we can never find by ourselves, a kind of peace that once we have experienced, we cannot recreate, a kind of peace that we can never construct with anything that is external, or for the matter anything that is not of God. It is the peace of God, it comes from God and God alone. Only in following Him wholeheartedly and learning to trust Him wholeheartedly can we ever receive this peace.
We may ask, how come so often we do not receive this peace? The key again lies in the passage- "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God..." It is not because God doesn't want to give us the peace, it is because we have not become anxious for nothing, we have not come before Him with prayer and thanksgiving, we have not sincerely brought our requests before Him. Perhaps we only pay lip service; but deep within our hearts we have not really let go. And that is why we cannot receive the peace. I realise that I receive this peace so very rarely in my life because I have not really let go of everything; and when this peace finally comes, it is amazing. Yes it is not easy to trust like that at all, but God can teach you and help you to trust. It will be a struggle at the start, but the important thing is starting; once we are on the road, and we begin to see more and more of God's goodness and the way He works all things for good, it becomes easier and easier to trust. I pray that you may receive this peace in your life.
Paul faced many challenges and difficulties in his life. "To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now." 1 Cor. 4:11-13. But yet He had this peace that he wrote about in Philippians. "We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed" 2 Cor 4:8-9.
Phil 4:6-7 was not meant to give us the idea that we can come before God with anything we want for ourselves and He will give them to us. It was meant to reassure us that as we live our lives for Him, as we make Him our ultimate purpose, and as we suffer in the process, we can bring all our requests and needs and desires before Him, and He will give us His peace and the reassurance that He is in control of everything. And may I add here that more than just the peace He gives, He also truly works out all things for good as He uses us for His purposes, and those who put their trust and hope in Him are never disappointed, only amazed. I must share more about this another time...
We serve a truly amazing God.
What is this peace of God, and why does it surpass all understanding? Very appealing, but sounds kind of abstract too. But all of us were meant to have it.
This peace of God must be understood in its context in the passage. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God..." The peace of God is the peace that comes with knowing that God is in control of everything, and having brought all our requests to Him, all our sorrows, all our worries, all our pains, all our uncertainties-we rest completely assured and certain that God is in control, and that He is working for good.
And why does it surpass all understanding? One way to look at it is that in the midst of things which may be going wrong all over the place, we can still have an unshakeable peace, and this is a peace that even people who have everything in this world do not have. How, despite our fallen human nature and our tendency to doubt and worry, God can teach us to trust and have this kind of peace is truly amazing. Another way to also look at it is that this is a kind of peace that we can never find by ourselves, a kind of peace that once we have experienced, we cannot recreate, a kind of peace that we can never construct with anything that is external, or for the matter anything that is not of God. It is the peace of God, it comes from God and God alone. Only in following Him wholeheartedly and learning to trust Him wholeheartedly can we ever receive this peace.
We may ask, how come so often we do not receive this peace? The key again lies in the passage- "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God..." It is not because God doesn't want to give us the peace, it is because we have not become anxious for nothing, we have not come before Him with prayer and thanksgiving, we have not sincerely brought our requests before Him. Perhaps we only pay lip service; but deep within our hearts we have not really let go. And that is why we cannot receive the peace. I realise that I receive this peace so very rarely in my life because I have not really let go of everything; and when this peace finally comes, it is amazing. Yes it is not easy to trust like that at all, but God can teach you and help you to trust. It will be a struggle at the start, but the important thing is starting; once we are on the road, and we begin to see more and more of God's goodness and the way He works all things for good, it becomes easier and easier to trust. I pray that you may receive this peace in your life.
Paul faced many challenges and difficulties in his life. "To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now." 1 Cor. 4:11-13. But yet He had this peace that he wrote about in Philippians. "We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed" 2 Cor 4:8-9.
Phil 4:6-7 was not meant to give us the idea that we can come before God with anything we want for ourselves and He will give them to us. It was meant to reassure us that as we live our lives for Him, as we make Him our ultimate purpose, and as we suffer in the process, we can bring all our requests and needs and desires before Him, and He will give us His peace and the reassurance that He is in control of everything. And may I add here that more than just the peace He gives, He also truly works out all things for good as He uses us for His purposes, and those who put their trust and hope in Him are never disappointed, only amazed. I must share more about this another time...
We serve a truly amazing God.
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