THE PEACE OF GOD
If you do this, you will receive God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:7 NLT)
Do you ever just want the world to go away, curl up in the fetal position, grab your blanket and suck your thumb? Maybe you have a different way of expressing, but we all have times where we truly do want to become as a little child and be held so tight that all of the clutter around us goes away.
Well, this is what God is offering us in this verse and the verses that precede it. There are many other places in scripture where He tells us that if we just come to Him, He will take care of everything. That does not necessarily mean that the things that are troubling us will go away, it just means that He will help us to put them into proper perspective so that they don’t trouble us any more.
“That is easy for you to say!” I know that is what we often think when we hear such things, but saying it is just a start. Putting it into action takes a little more effort on our part, but as with all things with God, it is well worth the effort. When God says we should not worry about anything, we should tell ourselves what God says. When He says to pray about it instead, you got it, we should pray about it instead. After we have done that, we should tell ourselves that we have refused to worry and that we have prayed and now it is up to God to give us that wonderful peace.
What happens if we still don’t feel peaceful? We just keep speaking the truth and declaring that God does not lie. He cannot lie, and if He said He would give me rest and peace, then I have it!
I can tell you for a fact that God is faithful. I started writing this for myself, because lately everything has been rushing by. I was tired and just wanting to go and curl up with the Lord and hide until things slowed down. So in a way, that is what I am doing. I am hiding with the promises of God and telling myself and anyone else who feels this way to focus on the Lord and it will get better.
Guess what? I already feel better! So thanks for helping me out. Now put it to work for you. Even if you are not looking for a place to hide store up some peace, you will need it some time. Besides that, it always feels good to just take a deep breathe and praise the Lord.
What if it does not work you ask? That is not a possibility. We just have to be determined to keep at it until we experience the result. Ah…now that feels good.