More on Peace

I was going to start with something this morning that said that I really like this promise too. But I guess the reality is that once you start pinpointing God's promises to us, they're all pretty cool and encouraging. Today's promise comes to us from Philippians 4:7.

"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."

Doesn't that just give you a sense of peace almost immediately? At least it does me, to think about that. God's peace will guard out hearts and our minds. I like to think about guarding. A guard in the true sense, doesn't just watch for alarm or danger or something bad to happen. A guard protects. A guard bars the path to keep trouble out. God's peace will guard. It will help keep away the fear and the alarm entirely. God promises that his peace will guard our hearts and our minds.

I want to go back a verse in Philippians so we can get the context of what is being said. Here is Philippians 4:6:

"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done."

Ah. Worry. We all worry- some of us too much I suspect, but the reality is we all worry. Mostly about the things we can't control. Right now I am trying really hard not to worry about our finances. We really don't know when Andy will be going back to work, and it is really, really difficult to remember that God is in control of this situation entirely and that he will provide for us. I still worry about how we're going to make it through until those paychecks start rolling in again. What I can take away from verse 6 right now is that I need to stop worrying. The moment I begin thinking about that balance in the bank account, I need to stop and pray instead. Thank God for taking care of us so far, and thanking him for what we do have and for showing us how we can manage without for a short while. God knows that we need money to pay our bills this month, and it will delight him if we actually ask him for help there. To actually call out to him and say "Lord, please supply what we need to take care of our bills this month."

This is where verse 7 comes back into play. God's peace will guard my heart and my mind to keep me from worrying about money. To keep me from worrying how we're going to pay our electric bill. God will provide, not only with the financial means that we need right now, but with his peace while we make it through this time. What a wonderful God we have! As a new month begins, and I know that things look a little grim for us, I can't help but be filled with joy and anticipation of the coming new month. God will provide for us, and I am so excited to see his work in action. Thank you Lord for caring about me and my family today, and may we share your glory with so many, thanks to your provision.