In the sermon last Sunday at our church, we were asked,
“What is one promise of God that, if you really believed it, would make a huge
difference in your life?” Almost immediately the passage that came to my mind
was Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV),
“Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
requests be made know to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Not too surprisingly, the message I listened to on Truth For Life that afternoon was based on 1 Peter 5:6-7,
“Humble yourselves, therefore,
under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you,
casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”
I’m sure I’m not the only one who would say that the promise
of the peace of God is one that we want to believe but often don’t. We do one
of two things—we hold onto the situation and worry over it like a dog with a
bone, or we give it to God but keep retrieving it from Him. It feels easier to
keep worrying about the problem than to trust that God will take care of it in
His own perfect way and time.
I was reminded of a hymn by Advent Christian author Francis A. Blackmer. It’s one that I dislike because I think it paints an unrealistic
picture of the Christian life. The first two verses say:
Once I thought I
walked with Jesus, yet such changeful feelings had,
Sometimes trusting, sometimes doubting, sometimes joyful, sometimes sad.
Sometimes trusting, sometimes doubting, sometimes joyful, sometimes sad.
But He called me
closer to Him, bade my doubts and fears all cease,
And when I had fully yielded, filled my soul with perfect peace.
And when I had fully yielded, filled my soul with perfect peace.
Refrain: O the peace
my Savior gives, peace I never knew before!
And my way has brighter grown since I learned to trust Him more.
And my way has brighter grown since I learned to trust Him more.
That’s a nice thought, but I don’t think anyone consistently
experiences “perfect peace” for the duration of their Christian life, and a lack of
peace is not necessarily an indicator that one is not walking with Jesus. As
Alistair Begg commented, “Any of us this morning who were prepared to say that
we are not anxious at any point in our lives are probably in need of some
significant help.” Anxiety is a normal part of our experience. (Hence CCEF is hosting a national conference on “Anxiety
and the God of Peace” this week). However, it should not be an overwhelming and
unchanging experience for the Christian. We have a God who loves us and who cares
for all the details of our lives. He knows our needs better than we do
ourselves, and He alone is sovereign over all the aspects of our lives. We can
throw our anxieties on His back and stop carrying them ourselves. And we can
keep bringing them back to Him every time we realize we’ve picked them up
again—day by day, hour by hour, or minute by minute.
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You,
because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3). We lack perfect peace because we don’t
(and can’t) keep our minds focused on God at all times. We are easily
distracted by events, circumstances, people, and busyness, but God is always
faithful even when we forget. His peace is available each time we remember to
turn our attention back to Him.
“Cast your burden on
the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be
moved” (Psalm 55:22).
© 2019 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are
copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect
the views of my church or employer.
