30 Jun 2011
Philippians 4:6-7
Philippians 4:6: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
This is another interesting passage. God doesn’t want us to worry about things; instead He wants us to cast all of our cares upon Him. He wants us to bring our problems to Him instead of trying to handle them on our own. When we do this – when we come to Jesus with all of our cares, instead of holding onto them and worrying about them – we will be blessed with peace.
However, this doesn’t mean that Jesus is going to make our problems go away. The challenging situation or personal problem that we’re facing may still be there; it may be that nothing actually changes. But yet, despite this, peace is still possible. This peace that God offers is not a peace that says “I have no problems”, but a peace that says “the Lord is my strength”.
Perhaps we are too focused on getting rid of our problems, when in fact God actually wants us to work through them with His strength. There can be peace in the midst of trials – a peace that comes from trusting the One Who holds tomorrow. We need to learn to trust the Lord’s care for us.
I think sometimes it’s impossible for us to reach this peace because we’re too bitter about the problem that we’re facing. Life is cruel and unfair, and praying doesn’t always seem to change that. We’re looking for an end to our problems when what God offers is offering peace in spite of our problems.