There’s nothing more peaceful than my hubby and baby–happy, healthy and snuggling. But life isn’t always only filled with blissful moments like these.
With the spread of the Coronavirus comes a rise in fear. I’ll admit I’ve been battling my own anxiety over here. A trip to Costco where they had NO toilet paper left plus President Trumps address plus our church closing its doors is a recipe for angst to well within my heart.
In search of tangible practices to combat fear and anxiety, I looked up every verse on “peace” this morning to see what God has to say. And while I won’t include them all, I wanted to share some insights I found.
I have seen–as I’m sure you have, too–many postings lately of Philippians 4:6-7 which reads:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Now, these are a great couple of verses. But as I looked at their context–what lies before and behind them–I discovered there are more elements here that can assist us with seeking peace.
Verse 4 talks about rejoicing, verse 5 talks about being gentle, verse 8 talks about things to think about, and verse 9 talks about putting things into practice.
As the Spirit led, I compiled a list of 4 steps to pursuing that “perfect peace” that Isaiah speaks of in Isaiah 26:3 which reads:
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
I don’t know about you, but I long for perfect peace. And while none of us will ever achieve perfect peace–or perfect anything on this earth–we can strive to get a little closer to attaining it.
And so I hope these tangible steps will help you, too, on your journey–especially in times like these, but always!
4 steps to pursuing perfect peace
(1) Praise
Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”
Praise. Who He is. What He has done. All He has given. And all He has yet to do.
(2) Pray
Philippians 4:6-7 *see above*
Pray. Over and over. Asking God. For all you want, in accordance to His will.
(3) Ponder
Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–thing about such things.”
Ponder. That which is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.
(4) Practice
Philippians 4:9 “Whatever you heave learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
Practice. That which you have learned, received, heard from, and seen in the Lord.
. . .
May God bless and keep you and yours in your pursuit of perfect peace.
