Inexplicable Peace

I don’t consider myself a worrywart, but there are times when I can work myself into a little frenzy. I think, “What if this happens? If this happens, then that will happen, and this can happen.”

The Bible tells us what to do when we worry: “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1 Peter 5:7 NLT). We bring Him our troubles, our problems, and our anxieties. This is God’s antidote to worry.

In Philippians 4 we read, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (verse 6 NLT). Nothing is too big to pray about. And nothing is too small. We don’t have to feel any shame about bringing our needs before the Lord.

And when we do, here’s the promise: “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” (verse 7 NLT).

The word “guard” is a military term that can be translated “to mount a garrison.” In other words, the peace of God will mount a garrison around our hearts and minds. Or, to put it a simpler way, the peace of God will guard us.

This doesn’t mean that God will make all our problems disappear and meet every single need immediately. But it does mean that He will give us peace in the midst of our problems.

Maybe you’ve experienced times in your life when things were going horribly. You prayed and committed it to God, but things were still going horribly. Then suddenly, you were reassured with the wonderful peace the Bible so accurately describes as exceeding “anything we can understand” (Philippians 4:7 NLT).

So, the next time you’re tempted to worry, commit your situation to the Lord.

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