When I was a kid, the “peace sign” became popular. You just held up two fingers, and if you were really cool, like me of course, you’d say, “Peace, man!” It was better than someone holding up one finger to you, I guess. The peace sign grew out of the anti-War movement and technically was a call to end the war in Vietnam, but it also pointed out something that most people desire – inner peace.
In the previous post, we looked at a time when Jesus and his disciples were on a boat in a lake in the middle of a violent storm. Jesus was actually sleeping through the storm, and the disciples woke him up demanding that he help them. Much to the surprise of the disciples, Jesus stopped the storm in its tracks.
When we face storms, and the COVID-19 pandemic is definitely a storm, how are we supposed to react? We’re being bombarded every day with bad news and worries and anxiety, and it’s easy to be overwhelmed with negative thoughts. We’re afraid, and we’re in a situation that is completely out of our control. What are we to do?
Here’s what God says to us:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6 ESV)
Paul tells us right here that prayer is the antidote to worry. So when you’re in a storm, talk to God, cling of God, tell him everything that’s in your heart, go to him with all of your worries and fears. Be completely open to God, pour your heart out to him.
And don’t forget to do all of that with a spirit of thanksgiving. As you give thanks you’ll be reminded of all of the times he’s come through for you in the past, how he’s never failed you and he’s never left you.
But listen to what God says in the next verse, and this is where “peace” comes in. When you bring your worries to God in prayer, he gives you an amazing promise:
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7 ESV)
That’s incredible! God gives you a promise that if you’ll come to him with your worries, he’ll replace your anxiety with his peace. He doesn’t promise to always change your circumstances. He may do that, but his promise is so much better than that. When we bring our cares to God, he gives us his peace, the “peace of God.” One of God’s characteristics, part of his personality, is peace. God is never anxious or worried. He is always at peace. And he promises to give his peace to you.
That’s exactly what Jesus said to his disciples:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27 ESV)
Notice whose peace he gives, his peace. When we start talking to God about our worries and fears, we are promised that his peace, a peace that goes way beyond our ability to comprehend or explain, will come in and guard our hearts and our minds from fear and anxiety. But you’re not going to know this until you really begin to talk to God about the storm.
I need to be reminded of all this because I am not standing here fully arrived. Worry and anxiety seem like they’re in my DNA. So I pray. I talk to God. I plead with God. I tell God everything that’s on my mind. I admit to him everything that scares me. And I read the Bible so that he can speak to me. I go back to passages that I have underlined or highlighted in my Bible, verses like these:
Is anyone crying for help? God is listening, ready to rescue you. (Psalm 34:17 The Message)
He does not ignore the cries of those who suffer. (Psalm 9:12 NLT)
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. (Isaiah 26:3-4 NLT)
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (1 Peter 5:7 NLT)
Spend time with God. Cling to him. Let thoughts about God and his goodness, not thoughts about the coronavirus, consume you. Talk to God. Pour out your heart to him.
Prayer is the antidote to worry. God promises that when you pray, he’ll give you his peace, a peace you won’t be able to explain, but a peace that will make all the difference in the days ahead.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ. (1 Peter 5:14)