Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV)
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.
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” according to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Same as peace, genuine peace is not the absence of troubles but the absence of fear in the midst of troubles.
Nowadays, while pandemics are hurting us the most in our century, the chaos being done by protesters, legitimate or not, is spreading globally insane. These plagues and troubles manage to spread all kinds of fears to everyone but those who received the Peace of GOD through faith in Jesus Christ.
But how did these people became still and gained peace; continue to be free from worries while the world wickedness is at work, not to mention the earthquakes and lots of natural disasters which are taking place?
The answer is in our verse today.- “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”- They acquired the Peace of GOD which surpasses all understanding. They read and listened, believed and accepted the Scripture; that all these things that are happening now are just the fulfillment of the prophecy. The Lord Himself, Jesus Christ, long time ago in the Gospels specifically John 14 to 17 and Matthew 24 and 25, warned us already about these things to come.
Before Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, He comforted us with His words. He said in John 14:1-4, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” He continued in verse 16-20, “ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”
Then the Spirit of Truth took over Jesus Christ Ministry. HE is the one with us now. And if we believe in HIM, we accepted HIM, HE will be in us, and if we received HIM, likewise, we received the Peace of GOD which transcends all understanding. And there will be no fear in us. Jesus reassured it that the Spirit of Truth that HE had sent will bring the Peace of GOD in our hearts and minds. Jesus had done this in John 14:27. He said, “ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” He gave us this Peace beforehand because He knew that we need Help from Him when the evil one is at work like today in our world (John 14:29). In John 16:1 and 33, Jesus continued saying, “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away.” “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
GOD had not failed with His words. (Luke 1:37) He had warned us that this time of tribulations in our world is coming. But HE had assured us His protection to those who trust HIM. (Psalms 91:1-16). What happening now should be expected and accepted that these are just the fulfillment of the Scriptures. And if we have read the great tribulation to come, what happening now is still nothing compared to the seven plagues that are ready to be poured out by the angels holding the wrath of GOD. (Revelations 15:5-8) But we have nothing to worry or fear of, because GOD will spare those who have marks of GOD in their foreheads, the New Israel with Jesus tribe, the tribes of Judah as the lead. (Revelations 7:3-5). This mark is the Spirit of Truth that guards our minds through hearing and doing what we are believing in the Gospels of Jesus, the Christ, our LORD and Savior from the wrath of GOD. Ephesians 1:13-14 says, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
Now, if we are still having all these sorts of anxiety, the Holy Scriptures advised us to ask for the Holy Spirit so that we will be at Peace of GOD. Luke 11:13 says, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” And not only that, GOD gives the Spirit without measure, without limit, to those who believe in His words. (John 3:34). So arm yourself with the Peace of GOD that comes from His WORD (Ephesians 6:10-20). Have Peace Everyone! AMEN
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