Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Devotional: Do you remember the early days of COVID-19? No one knew what the virus actually was or how to best handle it. To start, masks were not recommended. Shortly after, they were recommended. Then they were mandated. Then that mandate was taken away. And truth be told, I now have no idea if research shows whether masks help or not with preventing the spread of COVID. But what I do remember clearly from this time is the amount of anxiety around it. People were very concerned with getting sick and spreading it. Some people said that it was loving to just stay away from everyone. Other people said that it could never be loving to isolate everyone. There were so many unknowns during this time that everyone felt incredibly anxious.
Now, there are certainly people who suffered in one way or another from COVID-19. There are also many people who were hardly impacted. This example isn’t to paint the pandemic as a type of suffering for all of society. It is meant to highlight the anxiety and fear that came about as a result. And this anxiety and fear aren’t isolated solely to mass events, but rather are different for everyone. Often, when walking through a struggle- maybe divorce, alcohol addiction, or death of someone you are close to- fear and anxiety rear their ugly heads.
But we can find peace that surpasses all understanding. We can experience an overwhelming peace that makes no sense and yet feels like the most comfortable thing in the world. Regardless of the struggle that we are facing, we are reminded that we need not be anxious about it. Rather, we are to turn to God in prayer no matter what comes our way. When we give it all over to Him, we are blessed with His transcending peace.
Reflect:
- Think back to a time when you felt overwhelmed by the peace of God. What was the situation? Why do you feel you experienced His peace in that way?