Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) 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.
Last week, my life group met for discipleship where we were covered the topic of emotional wholeness and healing. One point in particular stuck out to many of us about this topic, and it had to do with finding peace. There are many different kinds of peace that God gives us. But the one that stuck out to us was that God gives us peace within ourselves.
We’ve all probably faced moments of anxiety over the past few months. For some of us, peace may even seem like a distant thought given our circumstances and where we are today. In my life group, many of us shared about difficult moments in the past weeks when we’ve experienced anxiety or fear. During stressful times it’s natural to feel anxious about the future. So what does it mean to say that “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”? (Phil. 4:7)
One thing that became clear during our meeting was that peace is a work in progress in our lives. We were all facing different circumstances that were making us anxious, whether work, family, health, school, or otherwise. Of course, not all circumstances are the same and there were different levels of anxiety we were facing. But we were all looking to have peace in the middle of these circumstances, and asking God to give us peace through the difficult times we were facing.
The truth is, there will never be a time in our lives when our situation is perfect and we can finally have that perfect peace. Our circumstances in life will never be ideal. Finding peace within ourselves is not about waiting for our circumstances to change, or waiting for that perfect moment when everything is right. The challenge in finding peace within ourselves is about having the peace of God in the midst of the trials we face. The peace that God gives us is not about God fixing every problem in our lives or taking away every challenge. It’s about being able to find peace in the middle of the storm.
How can we do this? Philippians 4:6-7 gives us some good advice. Present your prayers and petitions to God. One great way to do this is through listening prayer. In my life group, some of us shared about how we did listening prayer about our anxieties and the situations we were facing. God spoke specific words into these situations, and this brought peace. Another way to begin finding peace is through thanksgiving. Showing gratitude to God and to one another can go a long way in bringing God’s peace into our hearts and our relationships.
In my own experience, I find that I’ve grown in the peace of God when I’ve grown in my own character. It’s not like my circumstances have changed a whole lot over the last few years. In fact, I’m probably carrying a heavier load today than I did several years ago. But the peace I have today is much deeper and more steady than back then. So let’s continue to make every effort with God. As we do, we’ll also see the peace of God grow in our hearts as we find peace within ourselves that ” transcends all understanding” (Phil. 4:7).