Phil 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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. NIV
He talked about the different kinds of peace, but focuses most of his comments on the kind of supernatural peace that comes from the Lord in the midst of difficulties. It's easy to have peace when everything is going well. It's also easy to have peace when we get our prayers answered the way we want them to be answered. But it's another kind of peace all together that is needed when things are chaotic and the answers to prayer are not coming the way we'd like them to. That is the supernatural peace that comes from an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. It's a peace that passes human understanding.
Especially in uncertain times like those we are going through right now, with the economic crisis we're experiencing. Anxiety, worry, and stress can dominate and preoccupy a person's mind and heart and steal away faith, joy, and trust in Jesus.
While he was preaching I thought of the passage of scripture in Habakkuk 3:17-19
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights. NIV
Jesus does not change with the circumstances. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He can be trusted, even in dark, troublesome times. It is only as we go through the valleys in life that we can come to know Jesus as the Lilly of the valley.
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