Preparing for the New Year - Pt. 3

 

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4-9 ESV).

 

This week is not at all going as I planned. Christmas was wonderful, though I was unable to be present with the family in the opening of gifts because of a nasty little bout with the flu (it won, by the way). I’m a particularly bad patient as anyone in my family will testify, but when I feel as bad as I did the last few days, well, all bets are off. I tried to find a place to hold up and tough it out, though that wasn’t quite enough. Medicines and lots of fluids have finally begun to turn the tide and I am feeling lots better. The biggest surprise in all of this was my feeling of chaos because of the necessity of changing schedules and events we had already planned. Those of you who know me also know change and I do not play well together. This loss of peace is a feeling we can overcome.

 

It certainly doesn’t need to be a health issue. It could be the plea of a family member trying to escape the chaos of home life, a teacher bombarded with active children all day, or a medical patient caught in a whirlwind of tests, scans, appointments, insurance questions, and uncertain results. Stress takes its toll.

 

When the Bible speaks of “the peace of God” that can guard our hearts and minds, this is much more than the absence of noise or busyness. God’s peace—shalom—gives assurance that all is right in your soul, even if you can’t resolve all the issues affecting you or predict the outcome of anything at this point. God’s peace provides the assurance that God is still in control. The apostle Paul encourages followers of Christ to look above and beyond the problem: to simply pray about everything, thanking God for listening and answering according to his perfect will. We can then set our minds on the blessings around us—whatever is true, right, pure, lovely—and we can let go of our worries. But God promises to give peace to all who ask. I pray you will recapture your peace for this New Year!