PEACE AMIDST PIECES

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. Phil. 4: 6-7

Philippians was written by Paul while in prison. He instructed the believers to converse with God about everything and experience incomprehensible peace of heart and mind. This declaration of the possibility of a quiet, calm and confident spirit amidst storms of trouble and insecurity must have come as a shocker to many and may have caused some to rubbish such teaching as irresponsible. After all it is natural to be anxious.

One dictionary defines anxiety as “an ​uncomfortable ​feeling of ​nervousness or ​worry or fear about something that is ​happening or might ​happen in the ​future”. Arthur Roche has most graphically described anxiety as “a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained” (Reader’s Digest [6/88], p. 64). Anxiety is a natural response when our neighbour and classmate, friend and colleague can suddenly display beastlike characteristics and set off a bomb or fire a gun to kill as many innocent persons as possible. It is natural when communities once regarded as safe begin to experience merciless violence and heartless criminality; when the peace of mind and heart that were the signature of residence in advanced countries such as USA, England, Canada, Germany and France are shattered in pieces; when like Bob Marley we say “everywhere is war”.

Everyone is exposed to “anxiety starters” and many of us, even believers, are not strangers to anxieties that rob us of our peace of mind. Decades before Jesus told his followers not to be anxious (Matt. 6:25 and 6:34). Bible Commentator Ellicott said: 

“The prohibition is of that painful anxiety which is inevitable in all who feel themselves alone in mere self-dependence amidst the difficulties and dangers of life. It is possible to sink below this anxiety in mere levity and thoughtlessness”. 

Anxiety is natural but our God is supernatural, and when God is living in us in the form of the Holy Spirit, we can remain peaceful.

We live in a world of conflict, and we often find ourselves suffering heartache. It is easy to become fixated on a situation and its disruption to our lives. But peace comes from choosing to trust that God will bring about a resolution in God’s time and way. No matter what harsh circumstances may challenge our faith, peace grounded in Christ cannot be broken. Conscious of God’s omnipotent hand protecting and providing for us we have reason not to be afraid or fretful. We must keep our eyes and faith focused on the Lord who is the Alpha and Omega and we will experience perfect peace in the midst of pieces (Isa. 26:3).

Thought: ‘Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear,  All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer!’ Joseph M. Scriven

Prayer Focus: Pray for faith to be at peace in the midst of brokenness.