Here is the revelation that is shaping my life today – peace is possible in all circumstances.
Philippians 4:4,6-7 NLT
[4] Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again-rejoice! [6] Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. [7] 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.
Observation
Peace seems to be missing from so many of our lives these days. Worry, anxiety, stress, fear, and hopelessness, are the stories that are framing so many of our journeys. So how do I find peace? Well, it’s not found in what is before our eyes. It’s not found in our circumstances because they are just so fragile as we all know. So much can change with an email, a phone call, or a positive test. The security of our plans is not certain enough to give us peace.
So here God says that he can give us peace. Now this peace is not natural, it’s supernatural. Natural peace is earned and deserved by creating it circumstantially. But like so many things when it comes to God, this peace sounds ridiculous, it turns upside down our normal approaches. Firstly peace starts with rejoicing. Are you messing with me? How can I rejoice? Well regardless of where I find myself, if I raise my head to see a new perspective I can find a reason for rejoicing. There is a power that is released in gratitude, it’s the power of joy. When I walk for a few moments and deliberately focus on being grateful I can feel my spirit-man awaken and release the power of joy. It’s beyond a conscious understanding, it’s as if part of me begins to influence all of me. My circumstances have not changed but I see them from a position of empowerment and hopefulness. My mind quietens from the noise of stress and breathes a new influencing presence – joy.
Secondly, I now come from this position and tell God what I need, and I make my requests from the posture of remembering all that he has done. When requests are made from gratitude and remembrance, then the mixed drink of shared need and new hope quenches my anxiety. Then comes this peace, this peace I can’t explain. And supernaturally my heart and mind come off their full alert, Defcon 4, the posture of stress and fear. My spirit quietens my mind and heart to see from a posture of gratitude, rejoicing and joy, I share my load and break from isolation as I invite God to be my provider, and I release hope as I remember what he has done. Then I walk in peace. Not self-generated positive thinking, but intimate supernaturally released peace. Gratitude, remembering, requesting, these all make me present to his presence, and from the intimacy of this experience Of peace, I reflect peace into my world. If you haven’t tried it then maybe it’s worth a walk.
Application
I will not serve at the altar of stress, I will not give fear a seat at my table. The cost is too great, the load is too heavy, and the darkness is too black. I will not mess with these thoughts when I can choose and walk in peace.
Response
Thank you that you give me yourself always as my way to great life. Thank you that you don’t give me a set of rules to follow but rather invite me into the intimacy of you where I find peace. As I encounter you as peace, I see I am a man of peace, made in your image, and I reflect your peace back in my life, as this is my true self. I love this life.
Meditation
Thank you that you give me yourself always as my way to great life. Thank you that you don’t give me a set of rules to follow but rather invite me into the intimacy of you where I find peace. As I encounter you as peace, I see I am a man of peace, made in your image, and I reflect your peace back in my life, as this is my true self. I love this life.
JOURNEY DEEPER