KEY SCRIPTURES: Philippians 4:7 

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

RELEVANCE

As I delve deeper into this scripture, my personal journey of understanding and appreciating the love and peace of God expands.

Have you ever wondered why God included this scripture in the Bible? Let's explore its relevance to our lives and how it can guide us in our pursuit of peace.

Peace seems to have many opposites. Multiple issues can remove peace from us, leaving us in some form of unbelief. How we get to that stage often baffles us. The last thing we want to become is a peaceless Christian—which should be an oxymoron, but it's not entirely. Troubles leave us stressed, suffering, anxious, exhausted, anguished, grief-stricken, disquieted, in fear, and often in tears,

We need an influence that not merely soothes but removes the pain and power from these emotional traumas. We address these matters with all sorts of responses and challenges, and some work. But unless we tap into the peace of God, we will remain at the lower level of human experience. This wondrous step necessitates trust and obedience.

Our key scripture contains three important words—Peace (rest, quietness, tranquillity), Passeth (rise above, be supreme or superior), and Keep (guard as with a garrison). The explanations tell of the high spiritual nature and protective power of that peace that God wants to share with us. The transforming power that comes with that peace, even in the face of death, is one of those foundational human helps for which Christ died.

To achieve this peace, we need to give God every aspect of the problem and all potential outcomes. This tests our faith, but if we say we follow Christ, we must tread this path of complete trust in His love for us and ability to bring that peace and rest.

I recall a Christian movie with the line, "When the peace comes from God, no storm can take it." I think this best describes what don't experience often enough.

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank you for providing us with the peace that brings power over all fears, disillusionments, hurts and the dread of death itself. Praise you for your love and attention to our lives. 

Photo by Becky Bekks