We live in a world where there are wars and rumors of wars. A world where there is rioting in the streets. There is turmoil in the home, murders in our schools and workplace, and fear everywhere of disease. Doesn’t sound like there is peace anywhere. Yet, for the Christian, we have a promise of peace from God.
Peace is an inward feeling and confidence where we do not worry. It is a settled feeling based on the knowledge of the God I trust. Peace comes from knowing that I am sheltered under the wings of a God who is taking care of me. One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Psalms 91:1-2. When I dwell in His shadow I am under His protection. The second verse gives me great courage and peace, as I proclaim, He is my refuge and my fortress. Because of whom He is, and His protection, I can have perfect peace as I trust in Him. This confidence provides a settling of the soul. Sweet rest and freedom come from this kind of peace.
Psalm 91:1-2 “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”
In Philippians 4:4-7 we see the pathway to peace. The first trail on this pathway is rejoicing. As we rejoice in Him our focus is on the one who is in control. As we pull up close to Him and worship, everything else in life becomes insignificant. It is a great privilege to be able to rejoice in Him all the time. Rejoicing in Him causes us to be lifted high in our thinking, being cognizant of His greatness and my unworthiness. Rejoicing in Him allows me to begin to have an eternal view of everything.
Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.”
The second trail on the pathway is moderation. In Philippians 4:5 we are taught to live our lives in moderation. This is living a life that is not ostentatious. The word moderation in Greek refers to the restraint of our passions, temper, or any indulgence that would not be proper for a Christian. Albert Barnes’s commentary states, that the reason was to be an example of what was proper for a Christian for others to see, in view of the expectation the Lord is soon coming back. When we live our lives in moderation, we are eliminating the extremes that are unsettling to the soul.
Philippians 4:5 “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.”
The next section of this pathway is probably the hardest, but the most rewarding. Paul tells us to not be anxious about anything. We can conquer our anxieties by placing our total confidence in God. When our confidence is strong, it frees our mind from worry. We trust that if we are being obedient to Him, He will take care of us. This is a difficult thing for us because we have become so self-sufficient, instead of God sufficient. We need to stop and remember all our knowledge, all our resources, all our family, and everything else that we value was provided by Him. We get anxious when we take our lives out of His hands and begin to plan them according to our desires, not His. We section off our lives into neat little rooms. We have something different in every room, even God. There is no way that God can allow us to live this way with perfect peace because we are not putting Him first.
This pathway also requires us to bring everything before Him in prayer. Asking for direction in all our decisions. Before we make decisions about our jobs, where we are to live, how to raise our children, where we are to corporately worship, and on and on, we are to pray until we have peace from God. Too many times, we convince ourselves that what we are doing is what God wants before we have an answer from Him. He tells in James 1:5 if we lack wisdom, ask and He will supply. We are told in I Peter 3:11 we are to seek peace. In Galatians 5:22, peace is one of the elements of the fruit of the Spirit. We have the capacity to have perfect peace, but we must do it God’s way to experience it.
Philippians 4:6-7 “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
We have a promise from God that we can have peace in all situations, but just like any promise, there are conditions. God does not want a room in your house, He wants the house! Our sinful, independent nature fights this and robs us of the beauty of complete peace. How much better would our lives be if we were to grab hold of this promise and follow it through. We could then begin to see everything in the light of eternity. One day all the things we have acquired in this life will be gone. When we stand before God one day all that will matter is what we have done for Him. When you get this thought deep in your soul it will transform you to someone who has total confidence in God, which will give a complete peace in your soul. You can go boldly before Him with confidence and commit everything into His hands.
Colossians 3:15 “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”
Isaiah 26:3“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee;”
