Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:6-9
Let’s drill down on the subject of personal peace—don’t we all need it?
Step One: The peace promised in (v.7) stems from being at peace with God before expecting to experience the peace of God. And by way of reminder, peace with God begins (a) by acknowledging one’s sin, and need for God forgiveness. It comes when (b) one receives forgiveness of sin by trusting in Jesus alone as the only way to be forgiven. That is what it means to be saved. The rest of these steps will not matter, much less “work,” unless Step One is in place.
Step Two: Understand that while life has it trials and tribulations, it is not God’s will for His people to be gripped by anxiety. Sure, we may experience a measure of nervousness about a job interview or a trip to the doctor’s office, but being gripped by anxiety is not God’s will.
Children of God should know that because of faith in Christ for what He has done to save us, we can rest in Him. Since He has forgiven our sins and saved our eternal souls, we ought to know we can trust Him with everything else in our lives. Consider Paul’s words in Romans 8. After writing about how glorious our salvation is, Paul reasons:
Romans 8:31-32 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (read the rest of that chapter for more!)
Personal peace for believers is based on the fact that we can trust Him—with everything!