Beyond the Weekend: GOD IS...
People have a lot of thoughts about God. Some say he is angry and vengeful. Some say he is a buddy or best friend. But what does Scripture tell us about God?
Understanding the character of God matters. It changes how we meet him in our everyday lives. It changes how we understand the world around us, and his work in it. And it changes our prayer life and how we talk and hear from him. Understanding the character of God leads us to living lives of obedience and worship.
Join Pastors Aaron Buer, Jeff Manion and Brad Holmes in our 10-week series GOD IS ..., a study on the identity and character of God, and learn how your faith can grow as you know God better.
Peace of God
Read: Philippians 4:5-7 Listen: Philippians 4
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7
Over a thousand years after the time of Gideon, Paul also recognizes God’s peace. Paul writes to the young church in Philippi, instructing them about where to turn for peace. He tells them to remember God is near. God is with them. Paul knows God’s presence is a key element to peace. He tells them to take their anxieties to God in prayer. God wants to hear about them. There’s power in naming what’s happening and bringing it to God. He wants them to include an element of thanksgiving. Being thankful focuses one's heart on who God is and what he has provided in the past. When they do this, Paul tells them God will bring them peace they can’t understand.
Paul’s instructions still resonate with many today. Anxiety and worry are prevalent in our world. We’re stressed out, and many of us can’t seem to find peace. That’s what makes today’s passage so relevant. Paul tells us how to find true peace. It’s with God because God is peace. These verses have served as a key tool to many who battle anxiety. We can memorize Paul’s instructions, meditate on them, paraphrase them and pray them when anxiety arises. Many have found God’s peace through Paul’s instructions. It doesn’t mean we’ll never face anxiety, but we can work through it and find a peace that passes all understanding. Paul’s instructions have the power to be life-changing because they point to the God of peace.
TODAY: Commit to memorizing Philippians 4:5b-7. Slowly and intentionally work through Paul’s instructions when you find yourself facing fear or anxiety.
JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:
Read Psalm 40. Highlight anything that points to Jesus. Consider how this psalm points to Jesus’s delight in God’s Word and doing his Father’s will.
