The Peace of God

Philippians 4:7

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

As I was doing my devotions I ran across this passage – Philippians 4:7 – And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  It made me stop and think.  It made me spend time in prayer for the church – the Body of Christ. For the local church I serve and the denomination my family has served for four generations in a row as an elder.

As I read this passage once again – I thought of the colleagues and others with whom I disagree – theologically. As we preach on the Thanksgiving and prepare to face Advent and then Christmas – at our local congregation – I would love a Word from God – a message of knowledge and of wisdom – that would be so clear on some of the issues we face and where we differ in our understanding – that there would be no room for disagreement. I pray the Holy Spirit pours out on the church during the upcoming weeks before the Special General Conference at the end of February next year.

God knows all and understands all – this is a truth that most of us agree on today. Translating that from God to us is where we have issues. I would love some peace – some clarity – not just for me – but – for all of us. I asked our Bible Study group on Tuesday morning to look forward (after giving thanks for something) to something they would like to see or accomplish in the year to come. One of the members mentioned peace. Peace for themselves – peace for our nation – peace for our denomination.

Here is today’s passage in partial context. Philippians 4:4–9 – ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Today – my prayer is for a peace to come upon us all as we struggle to understand God’s wisdom and knowledge – as we struggle to understand each other and our differences. I pray for a supernatural revelation to the church so that we can be of one accord on many issues that divide us – so that we might be able to tackle other meatier issues together. I pray for the peace of God!

Maybe we should focus on verse 8 more.   Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Just something for us to think about today as we go on our way.