BY ELISA BAPTISTE
Philippians 4:4-8 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is [a]near. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all [b]comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
In August of 2004 at the age of 37, I was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. After only a few short minutes of a phone call, I received the test results that would forever change my life and shake my world. That one conversation that shook my faith and my peace, caused me to reevaluate my understanding of what it meant to have peace and especially as a Christian and minister of the Gospel.
As believers of Jesus Christ, we often talk about the abundant life that Jesus came to give us. But having the abundant life does not mean that life won’t happen to us.
Many of us are challenged with life and the difficult happenings of life such as a sudden death of a loved one, difficult health diagnoses, troubled marriages, challenging and wayward children and so many other things that life force us to face. And too often, we run from our places of faith, run from friends and family, consume ourselves with food, or just escape to our own self-created caves to forever internalize life.
But the good news is that amid our situations God has not forgotten nor forsaken you and through your situation, God is still our source of Peace.
Psalm 29:11 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
11 [a]The Lord will give
strength to His people;
[b]The Lord will bless
His people with peace.
So rather than run away from God, run to God as you consider the following:
- Peace is in God’s Presence – The Lord is near. Phil: 4:5b
God is Love and the source of our Peace. The Apostle Paul reminds us that the Lord is near and regardless of the difficulty of our condition, God is the author of peace and not confusion. And we can trust that there is purpose in God, not problems, so we must trust that God will carry us through. As the word states in verse 4, we can rejoice because the Lord is present and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (2 Cor. 3:17)
- Peace is found through Prayer – 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God
We must be intentional about our prayer life, especially in times of challenge, trial and tribulation. Far too often, we treat God like a drive-through window and give our orders rather than making the time to go-inside, take a seat and enjoy a feast of the presence of God through prayer. The true meaning of prayer is to have a conversation with God. Having a conversation means to not only speak, but more importantly to listen and too many of us are uncomfortable with the silence and too busy to sit still to listen.
And as we seek God in our situations, it’s important to go to Him in faith, believing that we receive and removing the vices and areas of unforgiveness from our lives. (Mark 11:24).
- Peace is our Protector – 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Remember that God is the protector of our hearts and minds that guards us from the attacks of the enemy that would cause us to be discouraged, depressed and doubtful.
Psalm 119:165 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
165 Those who love Your law have great peace,
And [a]nothing causes them to stumble.
Blog Inspiration 