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. Philippians 4:6-7 ESV

Being a part of God’s amazing creation gives me peace. If God cares even that the mountain laurel is arrayed in beauty and gets new leaves each year, how much more does He care for you and I?

Peace to you! Shalom! This Hebrew greeting and farewell means not only peace, which is what most of us recognize, but it also means “harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility”. That’s a lot of blessings in what we might see as a simple hello and goodbye. Peace is something we all desire; for ourselves, our families, our communities, our nations, and our world.

For many, peace is simple “freedom from conflict”. When I was young, my mom would insist on just a few minutes of “peace and quiet”. What she really meant was no arguing, no noisy disagreements, no yelling and no whining. There were four of us kids!

But in its truest sense, spiritual peace, is a gift of God as a part of our inheritance as children of God in Christ. Jesus tells us, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 Jesus definitely did not promise us “freedom from conflict”, in fact, He pretty much said in this world we would have problems. But He did promise that if we remain in Him, we could have true peace, spiritual peace.

Jesus also said, “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 In this verse, Jesus offers us His peace. His peace promises us that we can choose to be worry free and unafraid. That seems somewhat impossible in our busy, stressed, noisy, worried, and troubled lives. How do we claim this gift of our inheritance, Jesus’ peace, this fruit of the spirit?

First, we spend time in the word of God. “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” II Peter 1:2 As our knowledge of God and Jesus grows, so can our peace. Second, we trust. We believe God’s promises and that He works all things together for our good. We bring all our concerns and fears to Him in prayer. “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 We turn our burdens over to God, to Jesus, and we let them go, and we don’t pick them back up (for me this is the hardest part). Yes, we let them go with the knowledge and trust that God is upholding us in “His righteous right hand”. Accept the peace that surpasses understanding and rejoice in this gift from the Lord.

This week let’s claim our gift of peace as children of the Most High God. Let’s search His Word for His knowledge, trust in His promises, and with thanksgiving and prayer unburden our worries and fears, and embrace His peace in our hearts.

Shalom, my friends! Blessings of spiritual peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility in the name of Christ Jesus our Lord.

I thank God for each of you! And I thank you for joining me this week as we claim God’s gift of peace.