Trading Worry For Peace
Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 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.”
After reading Philippians 4: 6-7 many times before, I finally realized that this is a type of “formula” for dealing with our worries and anxieties. How do I know this? Well, recently there was something I was worrying about. I prayed about it, but would go back to worrying about it. This passage was included in two of my daily devotionals on two separate days after praying about my worry. I took the hint that God was speaking to me and decided to get a good understanding of what these verses were saying.
First and foremost, always ask the Holy Spirit for guidance when reading the Word (the Bible)! Its very important since the Holy Spirit will direct you in your understanding and reveal new things to you.
I personally like to read different translations of the same verse(s) to get a better understanding on what’s being said. So let’s look at the Amplified translation of these same verses:
“Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God.”
Verse 6 says not to be worried or anxious about anything, which includes any predicament or circumstance that we may face. In the New Living Translation, it goes on to say…
“...instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”
Everything includes ALL situations and circumstances that causes us to worry or be anxious. When we pray to God about those situations, we should also thank Him for all that He has done already. This will help to remind ourselves of God’s nature, a good, loving, providing, healing, saving Father. Thanking Him allows us to humble ourselves and remind ourselves that we truly don’t have control over everything, but God does.
In summary of verse 6:
instead of worrying or being anxious, PRAY TO GOD ABOUT IT and thank God for all He has done already!
Verse 7 is a continuation of verse 6, but let us look at it in the Amplified translation, New King James Version, and New Living Translation:
“And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].”
“and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
“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.”
Recall that verse 6 said to not worry or be anxious about anything, but instead pray to God about it and thank Him for all that He has done.
Verse 7 is a continuation of this same thought. By praying to God and thanking Him for all He has done, we will experience the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding. The Amplified translation states that the God’s peace “reassures the heart”.
What does reassure mean?
The Oxford Language dictionary (thanks Google) defines reassure as: to say or do something to remove the doubts or fears of (someone).
While the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines reassure as: to restore confidence.
Let’s rephrase and summarize this verse in Philippians with these new definitions and put it into our own words to make it personal:
“and the peace of God [which is the peace that removes doubts or fears and restores confidence in our hearts] which will go beyond the range or limits of all understanding will protect our hearts and minds as we remain in Christ Jesus”.
Wow!
To summarize verses 6 & 7 of the book of Philippians chapter 4:
Instead of worrying or being anxious, PRAY TO GOD ABOUT IT and thank God for all He has done already! By doing so we will experience God’s peace (which removes doubts and fears while restoring confidence in our hearts), which surpasses all understanding. His peace will protect our hearts and minds as we remain in Christ Jesus.
Taking the time to study the Word for greater understanding gives the Word of God new meaning to us. Diving deeper in these verses has given me the peace of God that surpasses all understanding in my given situation. As a result, I “gave my situation to God” (meaning I trust God to work out my situation) instead of holding onto it to worry about. And to think, all of this started because God brought these verses to my attention on two separate occasion. He knows what we need and when we need it!
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I thank You for all that You have done for us. I thank You, Lord, for the stripes You took for our healed bodies. Thank you Father what You did on the cross and what You continue to do in our lives today.
Abba, I pray that everyone reading (including myself) this will experience Your peace in any and every situation or circumstance we encounter throughout life. Lord, let us approach every problem, worry, or anxiety like how You state in Your Word. Let us magnify You over our problems so that we remind ourselves that You are God and that You are in control.
Father, I ask that You guide us as we read and meditate on Your Word. Help us to know when You are speaking to us. Let us be hypersensitive to You and Your voice, Lord God. Abba I just thank you, in advance, for a closer, more personal relationship with You and You alone. You are King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So Father, we give You permission to be Lord of every facet of our lives. Have it all God!
We love You and praise You! In Jesus’ name, Amen!
I know talking about thanking God for what He has done might be a sensitive subject for many. For some, it may difficult remembering things to thank God for. Don’t worry, I’m not here to judge you. In fact, I have been there before. When we can’t readily think of anything to be thankful for, just remember the bare basics:
God sent His son (Jesus Christ) to Earth to be beaten & shed His blood for our healed bodies and to die on the cross to wash away ALL of our sins (which are our shortcomings that are offensive to God). By doing this, God has redeem us back to Him if we believe in our hearts and confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.
Sin kept us distant from God, but He closed the gap by sacrificing His son on the cross. When Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, death officially lost its sting. Though we may die physically on this earth, our souls will live on for eternity (either in Heaven or hell).
Through Jesus’ actions: we have peace, we have joy, we are redeemed, we are whole, we are healed, we are free, and we have our identities as sons and daughters of the Most High God. Just that alone is more than enough to be thankful for.
Although this song might be considered “old” by some, this song will always be relevant since it’s talking about the exchanges Jesus did for us on the cross. Luckily, the lyrics are already included in the video.
Continuing on the topic of thanking God being a sensitive subject for people…
Others who find it difficult to thank God might experience hesitancy thanking God due to painful experiences that occurred in the past. Again, I’m not judging you since I’ve also been there at one point in my life. There is not much I can really say to change your mind, except only talk to God about those painful experiences that you endured. He will reveal to you the truth about those situations and that hurt, in Jesus’ name. I pray and thank God for your freedom and healing from ALL past hurts that you may experienced. And may the peace of God clothe and comfort you, in Jesus’ name.
