“And God’s peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” –Philippians 4:7 (NCV)
“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”—Philippians 4:6-7 (Msg.)The world is troubled by uprisings, terrorism, wars, mistrust, economic and physical needs, major disasters. People were made homeless and many died from the major earthquake that struck Haiti this past week.
We sometimes cry “Peace, peace!” when there seems to be no peace, no refuge.
Eugene Peterson translated The Message Bible in “contemporary” and “the language of the people.” He renders verse 6 of 4th Philippians as “Don’t fret and worry.” When we think logically about anxiety, fretting and worrying, what do we really accomplish by these negative thoughts? Worrying does not bring clear-cut goals but it does stress the one who worries. “Instead of worrying, pray,” Peterson’s version reads. He hastens to add that our petitions and praises will “shape our worries into prayers.” God wants to know our concerns. He is a burden-bearing God. Soon after we turn our burdens over to the Lord, we can feel a sense of wholeness, solutions and calmness. Peace flows into us like a quiet stream meandering along its watercourse. Allow Christ to displace worry with His peace. We won’t understand the peace we feel, because the Scripture tells us it is “beyond understanding.” We’re not asked to understand it, but to welcome and accept it as a needful gift from God for His children.
I can testify to the truth of this scripture. Just now I am discovering every day that God is pouring out His peace in my heart, and “everything is coming together for good.” Selah!
c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Sunday, January 17, 2010
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