An Ordinary Woman and the Peace of God

     Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 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.

(Philippians 4:6-7 New International Version)

I’ve been pursuing the peace that “transcends all understanding” most of my life. I’ve had glimpses of it and imagine it’s what heaven will be like—only about a million times better.

It’s the “do not be anxious” part that trips me up. It seems as if there’s always something to be anxious about. Is it like that for you too? I feel as if I’m constantly taking things to Him in prayer, and my petition list has gotten so long that I have to write it down or I won’t remember all of it.

The thanksgiving part can be hard as well. Most of the time, I really don’t feel too thankful for what I’m praying about. Let’s face it. If we’re anxious about something, we’re not usually thankful for it, are we? Maybe that’s really the crux of the problem. How do we bring all our problems and petitions to God with thanksgiving? Thanksgiving for what? For illness? For heartache? For loss? For unanswered prayer?

When our daughter, Beth, was in the seventh grade, my husband got a new job. It meant moving to a new city that was far away from where she’d grown up. Away from her school. Away from her friends. Needless to say, she was miserable.

My parents came to help with the packing and such, and one day, my Dad went to pick Beth up at school. As they were riding home, she unloaded all her woes on her Grandfather and finished by saying, “Has anything this terrible ever happened to you?”

He replied, “My Mom died when I was thirteen.”

It got quiet in the car. Then after a few seconds, Beth said, “I guess that’s worse.” (I was relieved to hear that.)

She was anxious about the future—a future in a new place where she wouldn’t know anyone and everything would be unfamiliar. She was forgetting that her Mom and Dad would be there, and her brother. She wouldn’t be handling it alone.

And that’s what we do too. When tragedy strikes, we get anxious about what’s coming up. We worry about how we’re going to cope. We forget the most important thing. We won’t be handling it alone.

In Jesus Calling, Sarah Young writes, “Anxiety is a result of envisioning the future without Me [God].” (October 17) We won’t be handling it alone. And for that, we can be abundantly thankful.

So bring all your worries and troubles to God, with thanks that He will go before you, behind you, or carry you—whatever it takes—through this time. And “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 4:7 The Message)