Philippians 4:6-7 “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”.
While in England, a pastor visited the site where Nicholas Ridley was burned at the stake in 1555 because of his witness for Christ. The story had it that on the night before Ridley’s execution, his brother offered to remain with him in the prison chamber to be of assistance and comfort.
Nicholas declined the offer and replied that he wanted to go to bed and sleep as quietly as he ever did in his life. Because he knew the peace of God, he could rest in the strength of the everlasting arms of his Lord to meet his need.
People go to great lengths to attain peace. Some try medicine, different exercise classes, or even move to remote places in an attempts to bring peace to their lives. However, peace is not found in the absence of trouble but in the presence of God. To have true peace, we must seek the Lord.
God desires that we would “be careful for nothing”. God does not want us to worry about our problems and needs. He desires that we would give them to Him. He is the ruler of the world and can fix any problem we have and provide for any need that may arise. Why would we hold unto our problems when He offers to take care of them for us.
We must take our problems and needs before God instead of worrying over them. Because of Christ sacrifice on Calvary, we can go boldly unto God and lay our requests before Him. What an honor and privilege! Yet, many times we hold unto our problems and seek solutions on our own.
Our emotions are easily affected by our circumstances. But as children of God, Christ wants to guide our emotions. He desires to be the source of hope, joy, and peace in our lives.
The heart is the innermost part of our spiritual being. It is the seat of our emotions, and it is what controls our emotions. When we fix our hearts on Christ, He will give us joy. Many look for joy and happiness through possessions, yet nothing can bring lasting joy into our lives like Christ.
He is the source of all joy, happiness and peace. First Peter 1:8 says “Whom having not seen, ye love, in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory”.
Many have experienced the true peace that comes from God alone. Christ can provide a peace that calms our hearts during difficult times. When we give God our hearts, we can trust that He will take of us. Romans 15:13 “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost”.
Someone once said,”Peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of trouble, but is rather the confidence that He is there with you always “. When we go through difficult situations, we can have joy and peace because we know Christ is with us. When God controls our hearts, He will be able to give us joy and peace no matter what we are going through.
Give God Control Of Every Problem You Face, He Will Give You His Peace That Passeth All Human Understanding.
Pastor Paul Okonkwo
Independent Baptist Bible Church (IBBC),
New Haven,
Enugu
