Christ Jesus, our peace in the storm.

Posted by appolus on January 17, 2023

(Php 4:6-7) Be anxious for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

How many times have you read that brothers and sisters? Many years ago, for the better part of many months, the Lord laid this Scripture on my heart. Fear had been such a part of my life since childhood. On the outside it would never seem this way, yet my fears were my secret chains. Fears of death. Fears of life, multiple insecurities about myself and my surroundings. The old Frank drank and did drugs to quiet these noisy perpetually clanging chains. The new Frank who had been born again no longer had the crutches of old to lean upon. And yet, time and time again the words “be anxious nothing,” would rise up to be counted in my soul. This peace of God that surpasses all understanding seemed like some our of reach utopia, yet there it was. Would we be told not to be anxious if it were not possible? My head knew if must be possible if God commanded us not to be anxious, but how to attain such a peace?

After many months of being stuck on this Scripture and bringing it before the Lord, I realized the Lord was showing me that it was sin. To fear was sin. To be anxious was a lack of trust. I realized that I was offending my Lord. It changed everything for me. I didn’t suddenly overnight stop being anxious or walk in a peace that surpassed understanding, but I now had identified the root cause of my problem and so from then on was determined to “work this out,” just as we were told to work out our salvation. It was part of the sanctification process. And a key phrase for me was found in this very same chapter.

“For I have learned, in whatever state, to be content.” (v 11) There was a learning process. If you look back at your lives brothers and sisters, how many times has the Lord been with you and kept you? Hundreds? Thousands? Multiple thousands? Yes, and every-time He has taken us through. All through those times we are learning. Learning what? About His faithfulness. And as we understand and recognize His continual faithfulness, even when so many times we ourselves were not trusting, then we grow in our own faith because of witnessing His. And this produces thanksgiving in our hearts. This thankful heart is a sweet aroma to God and a powerful salve to our many trials.

And the way forward is to take our thoughts captive. This is our work but the tools have been given to us by the Lord. Whatever we focus our minds on, we magnify. Sin is magnified as we continually gaze upon it. Fear is also magnified as we feed it with our thoughts. And so we have been instructed to meditate on these things……..what is true, what is noble, what is just, what is pure, what is lovely. Concentrate on good reports and what is virtuous. Consider all things that are worthy of praise and meditate on them. In this way we are focusing the mind on the goodness of God and rejoicing in that. No matter if we are full or hungry, rich or poor, sick or in health, we rejoice in God whether hungry, poor or sick. And in that rejoicing and coming into His presence, anxiousness flees away like the vacuous shadow that it is.