Sep 2, 2014

God Promises Peace



 
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me - everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:6-9

What’s weighing on you today? Is there a loved one in need? Bills piling up? Struggling with health issues? Frightened by wars and rumors of wars? Do you have a relationship in trouble? Are you facing a problem with no apparent solution? Do you feel alone? Like a soothing salve to the anxious heart, the above promise from Philippians 4 is for you ... today. 

Anxiety doesn’t come with an off-switch. Anxiety warns us that something is wrong and needs attention. It drives us to our knees in prayer. Yet prayer is often the last thing we think to do. 

The hurt, pain and fear we so often feel run deep, but Christ's love is stronger and more powerful. Through Jesus we have access to the very throne room of heaven. The Spirit intercedes for us there with groaning too deep for words (Romans 8). Even when we don't know how to pray, we aren't hindered. God wouldn't invite us to bring our cares and requests before Him if He didn't plan to act.

God’s promise is not that all our requests will be granted the way that we want them to, but that the peace of Jesus Christ will guard our hearts, despite what we're going through.

Your Friend Jesus is right there with you. Talk to Him. He's listening ... attentively.

Jesus IS our peace.

Father, so much weighs on our minds. Troubles seem to abound, everywhere around us. We need Your peace to cover our minds and our situations, and we pray for that now. In Jesus’ name, amen.