Peace
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8,9 (NIV)
I wrote about peace and my need for it in the last post, and this post continues that discussion. In verse seven, just before the above quote, Paul speaks of the peace of God, and its presence and help in our lives. So now, two verses later, in verse nine, he again speaks of God and His peace. Only this time it is “God of peace,” and previously it was the “peace of God. They both sound good to me.
We are usually reminded of this passage because of the things we are told to think about—true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy things , but these two verses end with “And the God of peace will be with you.” For me, that moves the emphasis from the things we are to think about to the presence of the God of peace. Paul tells us that if we think on these awesome things, our minds will have no room for negative thoughts, nor worries, nor anxieties because the God of peace will be with us.
As was my search in my previous posting, I am looking for peace, and here I have been told that the God of peace will be with me. What a great combination we have in these few verses, Philippians 4:4-9, the “peace of God” and the “God of peace.” So, be still my soul, when you have need to get rid of worry and anxiety, read these six verses and be blessed by God and His peace.
When I think of these verses and back them up with John 14:27: “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.” (NIV), I am greatly buoyed up. So I can say to my mind and to my heart, “You have the peace of God from the God of peace, and you have been given peace directly from Jesus. Now, FRET NOT!”
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