When does Peace Come?

When Does Peace Come?

“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 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.”

We may be familiar with these verses from Philippians 4: 4-7, heard them repeated many times.

I have too, but my primary focus was always mainly on verse 6, where the emphasis is on not being anxious or worrying about anything and praying and giving thanks.

Peace Enters the Equation

In reading this passage again today, the Spirit opened my eyes in a new way, and I got new light and a new understanding of what the text really implies.

It tells us when peace will enter the equation.

We are told that it is after we present our requests by prayer and petition, together with giving thanks to God, that peace comes in.

It doesn’t say wait for the realization of your request to flesh out before you then you will have peace, but it is at the point of presenting or request in fervent prayer and petition that we are able to encounter God’s peace. At that moment, our belief in God’s sovereign ability and his faithfulness to his promises can allow us to experience peace.

Peace that Lasts

It further stated that this peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. This suggests that this sense of peace can be a lasting and extended experience. I like to think it’s like directing security guards to protect something; they are ‘on guard’ for an extended period. It is never within a fleeting moment of the request being made, there is a continued sense of watchful protection which takes place over a period.

Tying together the practical context and the instructions of the verse, “…in every situation”, if we were to truly apply these instructions – pray and petition God with thanks about every single situation, then God’s peace in our hearts and minds will endure.

Winning Formula

Now, this is not the norm and I’m sure no one would object to me saying this.

It’s not the norm for us to always feel peace all the time, it just isn’t due to life’s various dynamics. However, the Bible doesn’t pretend ignorance to this level of human weakness because we are told that this peace will “transcend all understanding”.

Feeling peaceful during a challenging time will not feel or appear logical.

The 1+ 1 of the situations at hand may not = 2.

Couple that with peace? How? When all ‘THIS’ is happening?!

However, that is precisely when the knowledge and understanding of God’s word, combined with faith in his power and his faithfulness is most necessary.

If we anchor, this word of God in our heart and truly apply it faithfully, we can experience enduring peace. At the point of making the request based on his will and instructions, peace can come, not just after we get what we desire.

Peace - at the place and time of the petition – NOT AFTER our petition is granted.

Peace – in the moment of prayerful surrender and thankfulness – NOT AFTER we get what we prayed for.

We can’t rely on our natural sight alone to attain peace.

Peace then and there, which will endure if we continue the cycle of communicating sincerely to God our desired requests, according to his will and combining that with real thanksgiving for everything.

That sounds like a winning formula to me.

It sounds like a way of life we can aspire to uphold.

Dealing with God by Faith & Trust

Strictly speaking, when we don’t apply this word to our lives? What exactly does that mean?

Put it into real life context:

If you’re in a position of authority, and you tell the people in your jurisdiction:

 “Hey, don’t worry if you need something, feel free to speak with me, put in your clear requests- I can see your appreciation, leave your request with me and I will handle it.”

Imagine that is you, and then the people you give your word to, do everything else except trust that you meant what you said or that you have any power to do anything on their behalf. They then proceed to worry and complain constantly and try to handle everything themselves or find somebody else as a backup plan to work on the same request that they petitioned you for.

This would immediately signal a lack of trust, a lack of confidence, a lack of faith in your ability or commitment, and a lack of sincerity.

Yet sadly this may be how we approach our dealings with God.

If that is so, then we must make a conscious decision to change that.

We must remember these key principles:

To truly serve God, we must live by faith. (Hebrews 10:38)

Without faith it is impossible to please God.  (Hebrews 11:6)

Our faith activates his power and his enduring peace when we stay focused on him. (Ephesians 1: 17-23; Philippians 4:7)

I hope this was a word of reassurance for us all today as we seek to live a life of peace by trusting in God.

Blessings,

Catique,

Photo credits - Jakayla Toney; Alex Shute - Unsplash Images