Philippians 4:6-9<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Do not be anxious about anything,\u00a0but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.\u00a07\u00a0And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,\u00a0will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.\u00a0 8\u00a0Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable\u2014if anything is excellent or praiseworthy\u2014think about such things.\u00a09\u00a0Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me\u2014put it into practice.\u00a0And the God of peace\u00a0will be with you.<\/i><\/p>\n
Certainly considering the peace of God as these verses command us how to live and think and receive can be a very full Sunday morning message.\u00a0 Even this subject can be a series of teachings. \u00a0However the effort here will be made to give a concise considering.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not be anxious\u2026\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 Do not be worried.\u00a0 Don\u2019t let focus be distracted. Do not be troubled with cares and practical matter (Matthew 6:25-34<\/b>).\u00a0 Be carefree, letting nothing (Absolutely nothing!) be troublesome or worrisome. Don\u2019t take it upon yourself to work out your best interests.\u00a0 This is not saying not to work at where and what God has us to work at.\u00a0 It is saying that knowing that when one is doing what God has called them to do, don\u2019t worry about whether and how much your work will be blessed or acknowledged.\u00a0 That is God\u2019s job, not our job.\u00a0 Trust God, not oneself.<\/p>\n
\u201c<\/i><\/b>\u2026about anything\u2026\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 What should we not worry about?\u00a0 The meaning being expressed is that we are to worry about nobody, no one and nothing.\u00a0\u00a0 If we are doing the work that God has called us to do there is nobody, no one and nothing that can stop it or us (Job 42:2<\/b>).\u00a0\u00a0 Challenge or attempt to stop or obstruct, yes, but nothing can stand against it.\u00a0 The Sovereign will of God is indefatigable and undefeatable (Isaiah 46:10<\/b>). And so are we when we are within it.\u00a0 Success of what God has set us to do, is not up to us.\u00a0 Success of the matter is up to God.\u00a0 Trust God, not oneself.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 Do we trust God (Hebrews 11:6<\/b>)?\u00a0 Do we believe that though many things are impossible for us, nothing is impossible for God (Matthew 19:26<\/b>)?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t the Word here telling us to pray about everything?\u00a0 Everything is everything.\u00a0 One might say then \u201cThat would mean I would be praying all day long.\u201d Exactly! \u00a0The Almighty God who is the Creator of everything wants to talk to little old us (1 Thessalonians 5-16-18<\/b>).\u00a0 He cares for us all (1 Peter 5:7<\/b>).\u00a0 Let\u2019s talk to God and believe that He hears and that He cares.\u00a0 Let God be God and let us be us (His servants). God is in control, not us.\u00a0 Trust God, not oneself.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the peace of God\u2026\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 Does God worry that something that He didn\u2019t know about will happen?\u00a0 Is God worried that something stronger than Him will surface and defeat His plans?\u00a0 No, of course not!\u00a0 He is never moved out of peace because He knows all (1 John 3:20<\/b>) and is all-powerful (Revelation 19:6<\/b>)\u00a0<\/b>and therefore all His plans will succeed.\u00a0 God has confidence that does not come from pride, but from the sure knowledge of who He is.\u00a0 Man\u2019s peace is tenuous and based on circumstances and the controllability of them.\u00a0 God does not have these concerns.\u00a0 He is in complete control.\u00a0 So His peace never wavers.\u00a0 Do we know that God is in complete control?\u00a0 Is our peace based on anything other than God?\u00a0 It should be based even ourselves.\u00a0\u00a0 If our peace is based only in the sure knowledge that God is in control, that He is good and that He loves us, then peace is ours.\u00a0 Peace based on anything other than God is the type of peace that the world has.\u00a0 It is here one day and gone the next.\u00a0 The peace of God is knowledge based on the innate qualities of God. \u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s trust in nothing but God, and certainly not in ourselves.\u00a0 Trust God, no oneself.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026which transcends all understanding\u2026\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 The Word of God clearly states that the peace of God transcend understanding.\u00a0 It is not based on what we can or cannot understand and in fact it says that we cannot understand it.\u00a0 We trust God.\u00a0 We have trusted God with absolutely everything, not the least of which is our eternal salvation.\u00a0 God never tells us that in this life we will understand everything, stop trying.\u00a0 If God says we can\u2019t understand, then we better believe that we can\u2019t understand it.\u00a0 It means we will have peace when we should be afraid (As the world surmises).\u00a0 It means that we will have peace when it would seem we will not.\u00a0 It means that others will consider us careless or foolish because we should be stressing out, but we are not.\u00a0 Yes, that is partly true, we do \u201ccare-less\u201d because our faith and trust is in Jesus.\u00a0 We don\u2019t worry in circumstances that would cause the heart of the unbeliever to fail.\u00a0 We have hope when it seems crazy to have it.\u00a0 Why, because of Jesus.\u00a0 We don\u2019t need to understand everything, it is enough that God does.\u00a0 Trust God, not oneself.<\/p>\n
\u201cwill guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Those who think that they can understand everything and demand that they do, will never have the \u201cpeace of God that\u00a0\u201ctranscends all understanding.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 They cannot because they will never fully understand so they will always be unsettled.\u00a0 Again, God has not called us to understand everything but to have faith in Him (Hebrews 11:6<\/b>).\u00a0 Now the Word does say that we are to love God with all of our minds (Matthew 22:37<\/b>), but that is not saying that we will understand everything.\u00a0 There is much to understand and we are to apply ourselves to the Word and receive all understanding that the Holy Spirit will give us.\u00a0 Some things we just won\u2019t understand.\u00a0 Those things, accept and move on.\u00a0 They are not our concern, but they are the concern of God.\u00a0 Leave it there.\u00a0 Then, with all based on the work and person of Jesus, our hearts and minds are at peace in Christ Jesus.\u00a0 Trust God, not oneself.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable\u2014if anything is excellent or praiseworthy\u2014think about such things.\u00a09\u00a0Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me\u2014put it into practice.\u00a0And the God of peace\u00a0will be with you.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 Something that is true is that we all have many more blessings than troubles.\u00a0 That is absolutely true.\u00a0 Our blessings are innumerable.\u00a0 Let us give credit to God for every blessing in our lives (James 1:17<\/b>).\u00a0 Having given Him credit for every blessing let us be thankful to Him.\u00a0 Let us be thankful and think about God and how wonderful He is.\u00a0 As we consider those things we float in the ocean of God\u2019s peace that is an expanse whose horizon is endless. Let us also fellowship with people whom we respect in the Lord.\u00a0 Let us follow good examples of Godly people.\u00a0 People who are humble and serve the Lord.\u00a0 People who walk in simple faith, boundless love, and a humility that comes to those who walk with God.\u00a0 Trust God, not oneself.\u00a0 Praise God!<\/p>\n
Psalm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/i>\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear\u00a0me.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has shown You, O man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; And what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Philippians 4:6-9\u00a0–\u00a0Do not be anxious about anything,\u00a0but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.\u00a07\u00a0And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,\u00a0will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.\u00a0 8\u00a0Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[104,103,1700,1849,101,94,90,1871,17,711,757],"class_list":["post-1060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-hebrews","tag-isaiah","tag-james","tag-job","tag-matthew","tag-micah","tag-peter","tag-philippians","tag-psalm","tag-revelation","tag-thessalonians"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1060"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1061,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1060\/revisions\/1061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}