Peace Out!
I finished reading Philippians this morning and felt drawn to chapter 4. Paul is addressing peace in the life of believers. As women, we seem to struggle with balancing the chaos of life and the peace of Christ. What insights can we take away from Paul's letter to the church in Philippi? My bible breaks the chapter into three sub-headings; Peace with Others, Peace with Self, and Peace with Circumstances.
-Peace with Others
Here we see Paul mediating a situation where two women have not been getting along. I'm not sure what the issue was, but it would be easy to fill in the blank. There could have been gossip, slander, lying, cheating, false accusations, jealousy, or a number of other issues. These are the types of things that cause disunity among women in today's world and were even in the early church. We know though that when sin looms over us, the peace of God can not also dwell there. Paul calls for the help of a godly individual, who will show no partiality, to step in and help guide these women to reconciliation. Sometimes we need the assistance of a church leader or fellow believer to help us work through our struggles. This can be a great help as long as the person assisting shows no favoritism to either person involved. Our pride must be surrendered and an attitude of forgiveness must be shown to others for there to be peace among believers.
-Peace with Self
There are a lot of self help books and resources that the world gives us. Even Christians can give us this kind of counsel, but there is really only one Source for inner peace. Christ! Eugene Peterson's The Message words it like this "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." (Phil 4:6-7) God can give us the peace and calm in our lives that no one else can, but we must surrender our worries over to Him. It is also important to surround ourselves with whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and of good reputation. (v. 8) These are the things we should let our minds be consumed with, not the stress and weight of our circumstances. God promises peace to those who seek Him above all else.
-Peace with Circumstances
If you were to stop reading at verse 9, one might conclude that if we focus on God, we will have peace and easy living. Paul clears up any misconceptions that a person might have between inner peace and a problem free life. Paul once lived as a man of high status among the Jewish community. All of his needs would have been met physically and financially. Once Jesus became the focus of his life, Paul faced much persecution. Even so, he writes to the early church and to us about peace and contentment in all circumstances. I learned this year what true contentment feels like. It has taken 25 years, but my eyes were finally opened to the truth that being content comes with full surrender of our "control" over our lives. God is sovereign and will see His plans carried out in our lives whether it is what we have planned for ourselves or not. When you are able to let go of the desire for control over your own life and trust that 'God will supply all of our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus' (v. 19), only then will we find true peace in any circumstance that comes our way.
Since the fall of man, we have sought to worship and control our own desires. Even throughout our sin and rebellion, God never went back on His plan of redemption for mankind. That is the kind of love and mercy that we should be bowing to every moment of every day, not our own selfish hearts. Pray that God would give you full surrender to Himself and that your heart would be opened to the peace of living in the presence of Almighty God.
-Peace with Others
Here we see Paul mediating a situation where two women have not been getting along. I'm not sure what the issue was, but it would be easy to fill in the blank. There could have been gossip, slander, lying, cheating, false accusations, jealousy, or a number of other issues. These are the types of things that cause disunity among women in today's world and were even in the early church. We know though that when sin looms over us, the peace of God can not also dwell there. Paul calls for the help of a godly individual, who will show no partiality, to step in and help guide these women to reconciliation. Sometimes we need the assistance of a church leader or fellow believer to help us work through our struggles. This can be a great help as long as the person assisting shows no favoritism to either person involved. Our pride must be surrendered and an attitude of forgiveness must be shown to others for there to be peace among believers.
-Peace with Self
There are a lot of self help books and resources that the world gives us. Even Christians can give us this kind of counsel, but there is really only one Source for inner peace. Christ! Eugene Peterson's The Message words it like this "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." (Phil 4:6-7) God can give us the peace and calm in our lives that no one else can, but we must surrender our worries over to Him. It is also important to surround ourselves with whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and of good reputation. (v. 8) These are the things we should let our minds be consumed with, not the stress and weight of our circumstances. God promises peace to those who seek Him above all else.
-Peace with Circumstances
If you were to stop reading at verse 9, one might conclude that if we focus on God, we will have peace and easy living. Paul clears up any misconceptions that a person might have between inner peace and a problem free life. Paul once lived as a man of high status among the Jewish community. All of his needs would have been met physically and financially. Once Jesus became the focus of his life, Paul faced much persecution. Even so, he writes to the early church and to us about peace and contentment in all circumstances. I learned this year what true contentment feels like. It has taken 25 years, but my eyes were finally opened to the truth that being content comes with full surrender of our "control" over our lives. God is sovereign and will see His plans carried out in our lives whether it is what we have planned for ourselves or not. When you are able to let go of the desire for control over your own life and trust that 'God will supply all of our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus' (v. 19), only then will we find true peace in any circumstance that comes our way.
Since the fall of man, we have sought to worship and control our own desires. Even throughout our sin and rebellion, God never went back on His plan of redemption for mankind. That is the kind of love and mercy that we should be bowing to every moment of every day, not our own selfish hearts. Pray that God would give you full surrender to Himself and that your heart would be opened to the peace of living in the presence of Almighty God.
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