Comfortable With Handling The Unexpected

Yesterday my pastor, Dr. Dennis Brunet, preached from one of my favorite passages in the Bible. This passage saw me through a very difficult time in my life. When I first came across it, it so soothed my hurting heart that the only piece of paper I could find in my room was an envelope. I wrote this passage on the envelope and carried it with me every where I went. It became very worn from unfolding and folding it dozens of times. It literally brought me the peace of God:

    “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7)

Brother Dennis preached about prayer, praise, and the peace of God and it was something he said about the peace of God that rang true in my heart and my life. He said with the peace of God “we become comfortable with handling the unexpected.” Why?

Because we know that God deals with the unexpected and it is in those times we experience the overwhelming peace of God. The peace of God is a wonderful promise given to those who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. When we get worn down from this workaday world, we have the peace of God to strengthen us:

    “The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.” (Psalm 29:11)

This heavenly reservoir of strength is not limited to occasional burst of energy like some 5-hour energy drink, it is a bountiful basin from which we can draw:

    “Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.” (Psalm 119:165)

And when the unexpected does come into our lives, and it will, we can rest in the peace of Jesus, of which He left us:

    “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Look again at verse 7 from our passage because so far we’ve only look at the first part:

    “… and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)

What does it mean to have the peace of God guard my heart and mind through Christ Jesus? The Greek for “guard” is phroureo and it means “to be held prisoner, to be shielded.”

Think about that for a moment. The peace of God, which is beyond my understanding, shields me in a way that I can be anxious for nothing and comfortable with handling the unexpected. We have a Protecting Father, who will guard us with His peace:

    “But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.” (2 Thessalonians 3:3)

The Greek word for “guard” in this verse is different is different than Philippians 4:7. It is from the Greek sterizo and it means “to strengthen, establish, stand firm, to be resolute.”

This means no matter what life or the devil throws at us, we can be comfortable with handling the unexpected because our resolve and strength comes from the Lord and we can withstand all the storms of life.

January is gone and February has come. What has 2013 brought you so far? Has the hopeful expectancy of a new year turned into unexpected discouragement? Fear not, if Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior He is in control and you can trust Him.

You cannot trust in Christ if you have not trusted Christ for salvation. January has come and gone and February is already four days old, don’t let another day go by without the peace of God guarding your heart and mind. Give your life to Christ today.

I’ll be praying for you.

In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4

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    Copyright © 2013 David Jeffers

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