One of the more popular scripture texts comes from Philippians 4:7 where we read, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
I’m quite sure that decades passed before I truly experienced what this verse suggests. So if you’ve never gone from high anxiety to the calm represented in that peaceful fishing scene, maybe it’s time you asked God for it!
I believe it’s one of the greatest benefits of being a child of God. How he can supernaturally (because he’s God!) take a heart that is full of fear or dread or anxiety and completely replace them with a calm that makes no sense, considering your circumstances, feels like the miracle that it is.
I’ve called upon God a lot in the past several decades when I’m struggling to get out of my overwhelm mode. He is faithful to act if we still our hearts before him and expect his peace to become ours.
This “transaction” has always felt extremely personal – an internal transformation that feels custom-made for me, direct from the hand of God. And that is certainly one intention of this text, and one benefit for us.
Part of the process of turning trials over to God is to cry out to him for his calming presence. They pretty much go hand in hand.
This past week as I was doing exactly that – pleading with God to replace my anxious heart with a healthy dose of his peace – I had another a-ha moment.
Yes, we personally benefit greatly when God bestows his peace upon us, and fills our hearts with it. But he reminded me that it’s not just for our benefit.
Because when I’m feeling anxious and overwhelmed, guess where my focus is? On me, of course! I’m less likely to reach out to others or feel like I have the capacity for their issues if I’m struggling with my own.
So when God lifts that heavy load and takes those overwhelmingly worrisome feelings away, replacing them with his tranquility, he also opens up space in our hearts and minds (check that verse again) to be an encourager to others.
I often say that God is doing a million things at the same time in one circumstance, and we have no concept of how far-reaching his power is. It’s easy to stay focused on the affect this has in our own little world, but how much more can God do when we act upon this new-found peace?
To be fair, are there times when we can truly be so overwhelmed with struggles and circumstances outside our control, that even with God’s peace, we are still weary from the battle, and our tanks might be sitting close to empty? Of course. We’ve all been there. In fact we just looked at the benefits of letting God take those burdens from us a few weeks ago. So no judgment if that’s where you find yourself.
But for those times when you feel a strong sense of renewal and re-energizing, why not look for opportunities to bless someone else who is needing a kind word, or a compassionate gesture to help them through the quagmire they find themselves in. Maybe you pray with them, that God would infuse their souls with his peace. What a great gift that is! What a great friend you will be!
This is not just the holy season when we celebrate Christ’s birth; it’s also the season of overwhelm. There’s no better time than the holidays to look for these opportunities. An infusion of God’s peace, because you’ve reached out through your kindness, might just be the best gift someone receives this season.
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26
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