The Peace Of God

Philippians 4:6-9 THE PEACE OF GOD

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Here is a promise - when we pray, we’ll get something. Phil 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (v. 6). In other words don’t struggle, don’t worry... Whatever is troubling you, whatever that is weighing heavily on your heart - this is what you are to pray about.

Whatever it is — talk to Him about it! And then the promise - “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (v.7).

Do not be anxious about anything - in order words, not even over one thing. We need not have to be worried for any ONE thing.

In fact, the ball is in our court - we have to "choose" not to worry... The other alternative is - GIVE IT TO GOD.

In fact, it is a picture of God inviting us to come to Him. "Come, give it to Me!" Are you worried about something? God says, "Come, leave it to Me!" Are you carrying something heavy in your heart? "God says, "Come, give it to Me!"

Use of the words - CAST...

§ Psalm 55:22 (turn to it together) Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.

§ 1 Pet 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

There is this sense of an EXCHANGE...

Jesus: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matt 11:28)

He is standing there... ready to help us. Unless we allow Him, He will not force us to let go.

Oswald’s Chambers in his devotional book, My Utmost for His Highest asks this question:

"Are You Obsessed by Something?" He says we are to be obsessed only by the presence of God. If I am obsessed by something - I will be thinking of it all the time, throughout the day. And into the night, I’ll even dream about it. Now if we’re so conscious of God’s presence all the time, nothing else can get into my life - not worries, not concerns.

"The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety." ...George Mueller.

HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO THAT? By PRAYER and PETITION

The equation is clear: PRAY and you’ll receive PEACE (that transcend all understanding.)

Do you want to worry less? Then pray more! If I constantly PRAY for EVERYTHING, then I won’t need to be ANXIOUS about anything. Because SOMEONE better, wiser, greater - is handling it! It is now in His hands!

Prayer is doing just that - casting our cares on Him, letting go of our concerns to God.

Believing that He is more than capable of handling it.

Henry Blackaby in his book Experiencing God, writes,

"As you no doubt have discovered, becoming a Christian does not make your problems go away. But it does give you an advocate to whom you can take every concern."

"Casting our cares" is a choice you make. It means consciously handing over our anxiety to Him and allowing Him to carry the weight of our problems. Very often, this is the most difficult part of trusting God.

Someone said, "He wants you to learn to trust His heart even when you cannot trace His steps."

Dear bro/sis, God sees you as His frail child, burdened with a load that surpasses your strength. He stands prepared to take your load and to carry it for you. Will you let Him?

Find a quiet place where you can pour your heart out to God in prayer. Do it every day, consistently. And I promise you on the authority of God’s Word, you will find release from your burdens!

GOD GIVES US A PROMISE WHEN WE DO THAT...

Verse 7: And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

So living a life the peace of God is a choice. Nothing can rob you of your peace - because it does not come from the circumstances, the people around you, or this world. It comes from God.