Tag Archives: Peace

Avoiding anxiety in uncertain times

Philippians 4:4-7  Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!  Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The word for “rejoice” means to be glad.  Paul is telling the Philippian believers to, “Be glad, for the Lord is near!”  There is no better news for the Christian to dwell on than the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming again.  Our nation has just experienced a major election, and it’s quite possible that “change” is on the way.  There are real issues that Christians are to be concerned about.  Will the new President seek to curb or eliminate abortion, or will he act opposite  and continue the murder of the unborn?  Will the covenant of marriage, given by God, be upheld as between one man and one woman, or will our government try to weaken it?  These are fair questions, and as believers we should remain informed and engaged.  Like the prophet Jeremiah, and even our Lord, there is an appropriate time to grieve for our nation and it’s unrighteous deeds (Jeremiah 9:1; Luke 13:32).  But while we are to grieve for the national sin of our nation, we are not to lose hope and be robbed of the joy of the Lord.

The Lord does not want His children to worry or fear.  He commands us to come to Him in prayer and make our requests known to Him.  We are to pour our hearts out to God, for He cares for us.

1 Peter 5:7  casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

God does not promise to show us the answer to our prayers immediately.  His ways are much higher than ours, and He acts in accordance with His own will.  But we have been promised that we will know His peace, “which passes all understanding.”  This is how the Christian, in the midst of great grief and anxiety, can know the peace of God in uncertain times.

Dear Christian, know that our loving heavenly Father has saved you eternally through Christ Jesus.  You are a citizen of heaven, a people for God’s own possession (1 Peter 2:9).  Do not allow the sin and cares of this world to overwhelm you, for God knows about them and will reconcile all things to Himself on the last day.  On that day there will be no more sin, no more grief and no more anxiety.

Rejoice!

God’s Sovereignty Observed

It’s just about midnight and I arrived home from the hospital twenty minutes ago.  My wife Laurie, had a tumor removed this morning that had enveloped part of her thyroid.  During the procedure the surgeon removed a 6 inch mass and half of her thyroid gland.  The remaining portion of her thyroid should be sufficient to keep her endocrinological system working without the need for medication.  We were concerned that her entire thyroid would have to be removed, but praise God that wasn’t the case.  The only wait left is the pathology report that will determine whether the mass is benign of malignant.  Many believers have been praying for Laurie, and it has been a tremendous comfort to my wife and I.

When faced with medical uncertainty, how should we pray?  Is it wrong to pray for healing or that cancer not be present?  Certainly.  The scripture tells us to make our requests known unto God (Phil. 4:6).  God promises to give us peace that passes all understanding (Phil. 4:7).  It is that peace that allows us to trust in God’s sovereignty, regardless of whether the outcome is what we prayed for or not.  Our loving heavenly Father knows what is best for us.  He will sometimes say, “no” to our prayers because they are not in keeping with His perfect divine will, which is in according with His sovereignty.  

The late pastor, E.V. Hill, preached a sermon on the two aspects of peace.  E.V. Hill first informed his audience of their position outside of Christ.  Prior to salvation we were enemies of God (Rom. 5:10).  Paul tells us that we were under the dominion of Satan.

Ephesians 2:1-2  And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,  2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 

Knowing our sinful heart and our inability to reach out to Him, God acted according to His sovereign will and regenerated our sinful hearts.

Ephesians 2:4-5  4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,  5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)

God’s mercy and love allowed us to exercise faith in Him, which resulted in our justification by faith.  The result?  We, who were once enemies of God, now had peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:1  Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

Because we now have peace with God, we are able to know the peace of God.  “Peace with God” E.V. Hill said, “makes the peace of God possible in any situation.”  When faced with a dramatic health concern, financial difficulties or marriage difficulties; it is possible to know the peace of God.

Philippians 4:6-7   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 comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

The world can’t explain how a believer is able not to lose heart when it seems as though their world is crashing down around them.  When we walk with God, we can know His peace.  The prophet Isaiah wrote:

Isaiah 26:3-4   3 “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You.  4 “Trust in the LORD forever, For in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock.”

Whatever your crisis, remain steadfast; trusting in the mercy and love of your heavenly Father.  Understand that He knows far better what is for our benefit than we do.