The Peace of God

Good Morning,

Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV)
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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.

After reading these verses I heard, "If you want real peace in your life, just do as these words say you ought to do." So, I will ask you the same question that came into my mind, "Do you want the peace that you read of today?" I will also say the same thing to you that was put into my mind, "If you do, then follow the instructions that are clearly written here for you."

Rejoice in the Lord! Doing this is so important to us that Paul says it twice in a row. An accident of writing? I don't think so. I think that God placed those words into Paul's head deliberately so we would take notice and, hopefully, pay attention to what He, God, wants from us. He wants us to rejoice in Him. The Amplified Bible also says, "delight, gladden yourselves in Him," as a way to be rejoiceful in God. First and foremost in our lives we ought to be rejoicing in God, in the fact that Jesus Christ gave Himself as an atonement for our sin and that we have salvation in and through Him, and because we have God's Holy Spirit in us and with us every moment we're here. Think about it for a moment. How could we NOT rejoice in all that God is and has given to us?

Be gentle to all and let that gentleness be evident in all we do, in all we say, in all we have in our hearts. Again, let's take a look at what the Amplified version of the Bible says, "Let all men know and perceive and recognize your unselfishness (your considerateness, your forbearing spirit)." This is yet another way to both rejoice in God and a step in the process of gaining that peace in our lives that we all seek. We're also told here that God is near. Right here. Right now. Right beside us every step of the way. Yet another reason to rejoice in Him!

We are to give up our worrying ways and give over our anxieties to our loving God. We are to give our troubles and life challenges to Him in prayer. With thanksgiving in our hearts for all we have, we are to go to God with our requests, as well. Yes, we can always go to God with our wants as well as our needs. But, I think that the important part of this small section of Scripture is that we are to be thankful first for what God has provided.

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

My friends, I take this as a promise from God. If we will do our part, follow these instructions, the we really CAN have a peace that we simply cannot understand and goes beyond any kind of peace that is gained by the things of the world.

Is this peace what we all desire? I truly believe that it is. Can we have it? Simply put, yes we can. Do we have to do something to gain this peace in our lives? Of course, as nothing this valuable can come without effort on our part.

My dear Lord, my God, my Father, please hear my prayer. Lord, please, help us all who read these words and those in our sphere of influence, help us to do as You have instructed in these short verses of Your Word. Oh, God, please guide and direct us to be rejoicing in You; to truly be gentle, considerate, and unselfish in all we do; to give over to you every worry and anxiety that we might have; to be truly thankful for all of your provision in our lives; and to come to you with our hearts desires in our prayers. Father God, please, hear my prayer for myself and my brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. Hear us Lord and help us. Holy Spirit fill us to the full and show us the way to be obedient to what we read in these verses of Your Scripture. Let us hear Your counsel and Your leadership as we live out our lives. We ask, dear God, that we can, truly, have this peace...Your peace...in our lives. I ask all of this in the name of my Lord and my Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David