Philippians 4:4-9
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
Meditation
During this second week of Advent, we are reminded that God’s peace sustains us as we continue to wait on the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ. As I ponder what it means to experience peace, I wonder about the very un-peaceful craziness of the world (which seemed to outdo itself this year). Between the news and the battling between red and blue, mixed messages about Covid-19, the ever-nutty traffic, the busy rushing, and the noise, noise, noise, noise; how does one find any semblance of peace? Paul tells us in Philippians exactly how to claim our peace. Rejoice, don’t worry, pray with thanksgiving, think on good, pure, positive things, and find excellence and reasons to praise God and others. Then the “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,” will guard your heart and mind and will also dwell with you. When the peace of God is with you and you focus on the good around you, the craziness of the world is a wee less bothersome. Let “Peace like a River” overflow around you and to those you come in contact with. Peace be with you!