“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7, ESV
This week, I was studying through Philippians 4 in a Bible study I am a part of. Philippians…the book of Joy. The only problem is, whenever we are in the thick of our struggle, embracing the book of Joy can be kinda challenging. Especially whenever we get to verse 4.
4″Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about everything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7).
In my flesh and in my own wrestling, there is honestly a part of my flesh that wants to protest and say, “God, don’t you see my struggle? Do you see how weary I am? And you want me to rejoice?” Ha. How do I even begin to hold the peace of God that passes all understanding?
But as I was reading, verse 7 stuck out so deeply to me because the peace of Jesus has been a big theme for me this year. So I pulled out my Greek/Hebrew Bible and decided to look up what the actual meaning of peace was in the Greek.
And friend, I was unprepared.
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The Greek word for peace used in verse 7 is εἰρήνη or eiréné and it means “arising from reconciliation with God”.
Cue the goosebumps.
This passage is literally saying that our peace comes from reconciliation with God, the relationship with have with God because of Jesus.
To me, this is one of the beautiful mysteries of the Gospel. It really puts the phrase “peace of God that passes all understanding” in a whole new light”. Why He would choose us, rescue us, redeem us, and call us His own is beyond our understanding. But so is the peace that He gives to us.
So often, we seek outside sources to be our peace – even without really meaning to. Peace in the words of someone else or in the state of events in the world. Sometimes it’s in the harmony of a home, or in our own performance. But here in Philippians, God is saying that the true foundations for rejoicing and abiding in peace is in the eternal hope we have – reconciliation with God.
And honestly, my heart needed that reminder this week. Peace found anywhere else can be stripped away from us in a heartbeat. It might be good in the moment. It might be a nice reprieve. But the peace that rests its head in the sufficiency of the hope of Jesus will always be available to us.
My encouragement to you today is that if you are looking for a reason to rejoice or a place to find rest in your weariness, remember the joy of your salvation. Remember the great gift that has been given to you. We have a relationship with God who loves us so deeply, is kind, just, and full of wisdom.
What a thing to celebrate today!
For Deeper Study
Reflect
- Where have you been seeking your source of peace from?
- How does it feel knowing that your peace found in God can never be taken from you?
- What do these passages teach you about the character and heart of God?
Pray
Father God,
Thank you so much for your Son. Thank you that you have provided a way for me to have reconciliation with you; a relationship with you. Whenever things are hard and life I throwing a million curve balls, I ask that you help me to remember the joy of my salvation. Help me to remember that my peace is rooted in you. What an amazing thing to know that you will never change.
I love you, Lord. In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
To read our previous weekly devotions, click here.
