Philippians 4:7 – Peace You Don’t Understand!
Devotions based on week 10 of Joy in the Journey: Joy (WATCH HERE)
Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
“I just can’t explain it.”
“It’s hard to put in words.”
“I feel at peace, even though my circumstances are crazy.”
When Jesus sat with his disciples the night before he went to the cross, he said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).
The peace of God is the gift of a right status with God. The division that sin creates has been done away with by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. When I know the biggest problem my heart could ever tackle is solved at the cross, my soul can be at peace.
Remember this section of Philippians started off with the direction to “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Paul then reminds us to “Let our gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” He then encourages us to offload our anxiety to the Lord in prayer.
So what remains when the Lord fills our heart with joy, we know that the LORD is with us and we get to live each day to his glory and that whenever we have anxiety we can offload it to God?
Peace.
You can’t explain it. You can’t diagram it. You can’t even fully understand it.
It is a gift from God that God only knows, but gives us to experience.
But it does something even greater than settling our soul.
It is given as a gift to “guard your hearts and your minds.”
It guards our hearts from being disrupted by events around us. It guards our hearts from experiencing the roller coaster of emotions connected with hardship or tragedy. It guards our hearts from drifting our loyalty to something that appears to give peace, but really can’t.
It guards our minds into thinking negatively about ourselves or others. It guards our minds from the lies of Satan that disrupt our peace. It guards our minds from allowing doubt and uncertainty to creep in.
Peace is the thick wall that the Spirit builds around our hearts and our minds to ensure that the love, grace and goodness of Christ are always deeply engrained in our way of believing and way of thinking.
So how do you get this peace?
It comes from God and is rooted in Christ Jesus.
Peace is the result of growing deeper in our connection to the LORD through his Word. Peace is the reality when our identity, value, and purpose are wrapped up in the grace of God found in Jesus Christ. The more time we spend with our Savior, the more opportunity for God’s peace to build itself in our hearts and minds.
When you lack peace?
Don’t focus on just changing your external circumstances. Give the Spirit of God an opportunity to work inside you. Spend time in the Word. Spend time in prayer. Offload the anxiety. Remember the Lord is near.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Apply: Is your heart at peace this morning? What is attacking it? Spend time with the Lord in his Word and prayer…and experience God bring you his peace.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the peace you give, which I don’t understand, but I experience in a very real way! AMEN.
Philippians 4:6 – Offload anxiety (Part 2)
Devotions based on week 10 of Joy in the Journey: Joy (WATCH HERE)
Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Offload anxiety with the Lord’s Prayer
What a gift the Lord Jesus gave us in the prayer he taught in Matthew 6!
Perhaps it has become so rote and routine that your mind skips engaging when you say it, or you don’t remember exactly what the words mean.
Here’s a fresh use for these petitions. Use them to offload anxiety!
The Spirit of God says to present our requests to God using “prayer and petition.” So why not use the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer to do just that!
(Glance back at yesterday’s devotion for the offloading that can happen just with the opening address, “Our Father in heaven”!)
What anxiety can we offload with the petition, “Hallowed be your name”?
We get to represent the name of the Lord in our lives. If we have anxiety about our identity or our purpose or who we represent, we are bearers of the name of the LORD! In our baptism, he put his name on us and we carry that name. We have the promises and power of his Word that represent all of his name to guide, direct and encourage us.
How about “Your kingdom come?”
Do you worry about politics? Concerns about who is in power or not in power? Upcoming elections or possible future leaders of our country? This petition offloads any anxiety about these things to a trust that God’s kingdom is bigger and more important than any political election or leader. The power of the Gospel to change and guide hearts is far more impactful than any legislation or law politics can come up with. Remember the One who rules the kingdom of God is the one who allows political authorities to have their place!
Are you feeling less anxious yet?
Let’s keep going, “Your will be done.”
Anxious about our faith or the faith of someone else? Worried that you haven’t done enough of that your faith isn’t strong enough? God’s will is that through the Word we stay close to him. His will is that we find our hope and security in the objective work of Christ and the saving reality of the Gospel. When God’s will is done in our lives, we find our meaning, purpose and direction to reflect his grace in every aspect of life.
This next one is a good one. “Give us today our daily bread.”
One of the top causes of anxiety is finances. We can worry when our bills out pace our month. We can worry if we have accumulated much that we might lose it. This petition invites our trust that God will provide each day what is needed, just like he did for his people Israel for 40 years. Any worries about our daily existence get offloaded with this one petition!
Relationships can cause a lot of anxiety. Here’s where the fifth petition helps. “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”
What a wonderful gift this petition is to offload any guilt we have because of our sin to seek God’s forgiveness…and be assured of it. What a great petition to help us forgive those relationships that have wronged us, maybe even very severely. The anxiety of interaction can be replaced with the heart of forgiveness.
Anxiety about pet sin, addictions, or a situation that tempts you to sin? Pray the sixth petition, “Lead us not into temptation.” God loves to provide the strength to say “No” to sin!
The news can bring a lot of anxiety. Wars, natural disaster, crime, and more. We fear the worst that might happen to us in the phobias we can carry. Jesus invites us to offload this anxiety with the simple petition, “Deliver us from evil.”
Worried about anything else? Just offload it all with the words, ‘For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.” Remember God is Lord over all and more than willing to have us present our requests to him to offload our anxiety!
Amen? AMEN!
Apply: What anxiety are you carrying this morning? What petition helps you most to offload that anxiety?
Prayer:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and forever. Amen.
Philippians 4:6 – Offload anxiety (Part 1)!
Devotions based on week 10 of Joy in the Journey: Joy (WATCH HERE)
Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Do you ever have anxiety?
If you answer, “No,” I would question if you are alive!
Everyone has anxiety at some point. Anxiety is a natural human emotion characterized by feelings of worry, fear, or unease. It actually a normal response to stress or perceived danger. It can have a positive effect by keeping us from danger or doing something dangerous.
However, most anxiety is worry and stress about things we can not control or have a very small chance of actually happening to the degree we are worried they will.
A study by Dr. Don Joseph Goeway, author of “The End of Stress,” indicated that 85% of things we worry about never happen. Of the 15% that did happen, individuals said they handled the situation better than expected or learned something from it. This means that only 3% of what we worry about actually ends up as a bad as we fear.
So, practically we might rewrite this passage and say, “Don’t be anxious about 97% of things, as they won’t be as bad as you think.”
When we insert the solution to anxiety into the mix, Paul directs us by the Spirit to not be anxious about 100% of the things we might worry about. (Jesus actually indicates the same in Matthew 6!) The solution, or at least the substitute activity to anxiety? Prayer and petition!
God invites us to offload our anxiety on him!
God doesn’t want us to carry things emotionally and spiritually that we were never designed or intended to carry.
God invites us to trust him for the many things out of our control we have anxiety about.
But he goes a step further.
Just before Jesus teaches about worry and anxiety in Matthew 6:25-34, he teaches about prayer in Matthew 6:5-15.
Is there a connection?
For sure.
The Lord gives us the gift of prayer so we can offload our anxiety. What caught my attention in Matthew 6 and Jesus’ teaching on prayer is that in that section he lays out for us the Lord’s Prayer.
Could we have missed this gift for so many years? Is it possible that part of the blessing of the Lord’s Prayer are short petitions that we can use to offload our anxiety and present our requests to God?
Yes. Yes, it is.
Let’s consider just the opening phrase, “Our Father in heaven…”
What anxiety does simply having the privilege and the gift to address God in heaven as “our Father”…”my Father”?
Do you have anxiety about your earthly family? Do you struggle with identity and purpose? Do you worry that you are not loved or accepted by the people around you?
With one short phrase, “Our Father in heaven” our Father tenderly invites us to know we are his dear child, he loves us unconditionally, he champions our identity and purpose because he gave it to us. He assures us we always have one who is with us, even when we feel lonely and alone.
Don’t you love when God invites us to do something he gives us the guidance of how to do it?
Look forward to tomorrow’s devotion where we will offload most if not all of our anxieties with the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer!
Apply: Do your own thoughts today. Write out the Lord’s Prayer with space between the petitions. Ask yourself, “What anxiety does this petition offload and present to God?’ Write it down in the space between petitions.
Prayer: Lord, by your invitation we offload all our anxiety to you for we know you care for us! AMEN.
Philippians 4:5 – The LORD is near!
Devotions based on week 10 of Joy in the Journey: Joy (WATCH HERE)
Philippians 4:5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Recently I was listening to a session from the 2025 Global Leadership Summit presented by John Maxwell. John Maxwell has been a voice of leadership for decades, yet continues to encourage both leadership and the Christian faith.
One of the common questions he gets is, “What is my purpose?” He surprises the person asking by saying, “I know your purpose!” Excitedly, the person desires to know.
His answer is based on Matthew 5:
Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
No matter what we do in life, our profession or vocation, he simply said, “Like salt, make things better; like light, make things brighter.” When we, as God’s children see our purpose from God is to be in the world to reflect him, things do get better and things do get brighter.
“Let your gentleness be evident to all.”
What steals our joy is when we wrap up our life in making our name evident to all, our accolades, or our accomplishments. We look for joy in people knowing us, liking us, or following us. When they don’t…joy departs.
But the Spirit of God is shifting our focus from self-promotion to our Savior-promotion.
As Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 5:14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
The Lord is always near.
This is always true. It is evident when the character of Christ is reflected in and through us.
And when the presence of the Lord is real and the character of Christ is alive in and through us, we have a deep, real purpose that gives a settled grounding whenever and wherever we live and however and whatever we do.
Always.
And it will always bring joy.
Always.
Try it today. Wherever God has you, simply be reminded of this truth: The LORD is near. His presence is by you. Then head into your tasks with one purpose: Let your gentleness be evident to all. Make things better and brighter.
Apply: Take this verse to heart and do one thing that gives evidence of the presence and gentleness of the LORD and make something or someone better or brighter. Notice…does it bring you joy? Try it again tomorrow.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for being gentle and humble in heart with me. Teach me to show that same gentleness to everyone I encounter. Help me to remember that You are near, that You see each conversation, each reaction. May my tone, words, and actions reflect Your grace. Let my life be a light that points others to Your love. Amen.
Philippians 4:4: Rejoice ALWAYS!
Devotions based on week 10 of Joy in the Journey: Joy (WATCH HERE)
Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Me: Always? Wait, you mean…always?
God: Yep. Always.
Me: But how?
How can I always have joy and rejoice?
Don’t you know life gets hard?
Don’t you understand the difficult situation I am in?
Don’t you know the loss I just experienced?
God: Yes. Yes, I do.
Me: But how? How am I supposed to rejoice ALWAYS? That seems really tough and to be honest a bit unrealistic.
God: Perhaps. If you are equating joy and happiness, you are missing the point. Happiness is what you feel when external circumstances are good and your experiences are wonderful. Happiness comes when you get a raise after showing great skill at your job. Happiness is passing a test or enjoying a great evening with your spouse.
Me: So is happiness wrong?
God: No, not at all. In fact, I created this world for you to enjoy and I want you to experience the emotion of happiness. But happiness doesn’t last and I too admit it’s hard to be happy in all circumstances.
Me: I agree!
God: But I do want you to have joy at all times.
Me: So what is joy?
God: Joy is a gift I give you when you rest in my unchanging promises, my eternal Word and my grace that I have shown to you. Notice what I inspired Paul to write, “Rejoice IN THE LORD always.” I didn’t say rejoice in a circumstance, I said, “Rejoice in the LORD!”
Me: So you are saying joy is more than an emotion?
God: Yes, it is more a state of being that settles deep in your soul by my Spirit so that no matter what the external circumstance, you have authentic joy rooted in me and my love for you.
Me: So when life gets hard or I experience loss or am in a difficult situation, you still want me to have joy.
God: That’s right.
Me: And you want me to find joy by remembering that even in a difficult situation you are with me?
God: Exactly.
Me: And if I experience loss, I have not lost your forgiveness and love and grace?
God: Now you are understanding.
Me: And no matter what circumstances are around me and the emotions they create I have a settled heart knowing that your love for me never changes?
God: Exactly!
Me: And that’s what leads me to rejoice?
God: YES!
Me: Always.
God: Yes, always. Can I say it again? Rejoice!
Apply: What is the situation you are facing this morning? How can the dialogue of this devotion change your perspective to find reasons to rejoice today (and always!)?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving me your constant love and grace so that I ALWAYS have a reason to rejoice, no matter what the surrounding circumstances. AMEN.