Philippians 4:7; The Prince of Peace

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

When the angel appeared to the shepherds outside of Bethlehem, he began by saying, “Be not afraid.”  And when the choir arrived a few minutes later, they sang these words: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” 

Jesus’ birth announcement was “Courage and Peace!” Jesus came to earth to do lots of things – to obey His father, to be tempted as we are yet live a sinless life, to teach and demonstrate God’s love and justice, to show us God, to provide salvation, to conquer sin and death, to usher in the Holy Spirit, and many others – but His coming also brought peace.

And not just any old peace, but the “peace of God, which transcends all understanding.”  That is kind of a big deal.  Most would define peace as an absence of war or conflict.  But what happens when war or conflict arrives?  Peace flies out the window.  Not so with the peace of God. 

God’s peace not only remains in the face of conflict, but allows us to rise above or transcend the challenges around us. So we can be peaceful in the midst of war, sickness, death, or any circumstance.  Being peaceful in conflicted times doesn’t make sense; it transcends all understanding.  We can’t really explain it, but it’s true. 

Could there be a better a time for that message?  As our culture continues to marginalize Jesus and people move further away from the Gospel, fear has increased and peace has all but disappeared.  Which isn’t too surprising; when you deny the bringer of peace – peace is going to be a struggle.

The peace that you long for – that the world longs for – is found in only one place: in the redeeming work of Jesus. The more Jesus you have in your life, the more peace you will have in your life.  And the peace of God – knowing that He loves us and is in control – allows us to be not afraid.  Which makes us more peaceful…which gives us more courage…and on and on.

I have often overlooked the second half of this verse: “(the peace of God) will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”.  Ponder that statement this week and we’ll discuss it next time…

“Peace is not the absence of affliction, but the presence of God.” – Unknown