Set a guard!
(Philippians 4:6-7)
This is one of those passages in the Bible that I have read thousands of times and that I have preached hundreds of times and that I know by heart and yet (as so often happens when studying the Bible) I read it and God showed me something I had never noticed before and suddenly the passage is new or relative in a new way. Notice the promise of protection as we read this together:
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. (Php 4:6–7).
I love that this is very different than advice on what to do when we are already stressed out or feel overwhelmed. No, here we see God’s love for use in that he tells us how we can access the peace of God in a way that will protect us from becoming stressed-out in the first place. He gives us three practices that will allow the ‘Peace of God’ to ‘guard our hearts and minds’.
Step One Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
(Mt 6:9–13)
Step Two Supplication
Supplication is not a word we use that much in our culture. It means to make a consistent and continual request earnestly and humbly. Unfortunately it has been often translated as ‘begging’ and that has a very negative connotation in our culture. Many of us would also be hesitant to repeat a prayer over and over because we associate with nagging. We were taught as children not to make repeated requests to our parents. But Jesus modeled a repeated prayer in Matthew 26:36-56. and taught us a parable: “And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.” (Lk 11:5–8). Jesus also warned against repeated prayer without meaning it. Remember prayer is not magic. It’s not the words but our faith they express that God is after.
Step Three Thanksgiving
He [Jesus] entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” (Lk 17:12–19).
Result
God will give us a peace that doesn’t make sense. And I have seen it in others but I have also experienced it. There is plenty to worry about. But you find yourself oddly removed from the stress of it. I have found that I can still make decisions and deal with particulars but in a way that is disconnected from the emotion of it. This is an ongoing practice not something that happens immediately but something you practice and happens faster than you would think and is stronger than you can imagine. I don’t believe in formulas or magic spells (and this is not that) but God tells us here to do something in particular and He has attached a promise to it. I have found that He is faithful to keep his word. This peace is protective and not reactionary. It becomes not just a lack of something (stress, worry, anxiety) but a presence that is tangible. You can feel it in your life like a steadiness. Over time you will find it there even when really bad things surprise you. It is very obvious that is not from yourself, like confidence. It is more a hand on your back keeping you from falling over. Well, that is the best I can do in explaining it but trust me, it’s cool.
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