Light the Hope and Peace candles Sing: Hark the Herald Last week’s theme was hope. This week it is peace. The first verse that comes to mind when I think of peace is: Philippians 4:7 (NIV) And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
We all know this verse. It’s a popular verse to quote and memorize. We often pray for people that they will have peace that “passes understanding” or “surpasses understanding.” But what does that mean? It means that we are praying for someone, or for ourselves, that even in confusing times, when what is happening doesn’t make sense to us, that God will fill us with peace. I looked up that verse because I thought I should probably look at this verse in context. Sometimes verses that are super familiar to us get misunderstood and it’s wise to look up what the actual verse actually says.
This is what verses 6 and 7 say: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. This verse is saying that we are not to be anxious, but we are to give our request to God and then the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. If we do not worry, then God will fill us with peace. The command, “Do not be anxious” could also be interpreted as “Do not worry.” How do we not worry? We do what the verse says. We give our every situation to God in prayer. We go to God in faith and give Him our worry. We have hope that He will help us. Hope was last week’s word! Remember, hope that has matured is faith. So last week’s candle, hope, leads to peace.
Without hope, we cannot have peace. If we don’t have hope, if we don’t have faith, we will be full of worry. The opposite of peace is unrest- turmoil or war. Sometimes we feel like we are at war within ourselves. We have unrest and turmoil. We worry and imagine the worst possible things might happen. We could call it the war of “what if.” We can get stuck in a war of what ifs within our minds and it’s a horrible place to be. We are surrounded by worries and fear. The enemy is attacking our minds and trying to capture us in fear. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can refuse to engage and we can walk off the battlefield so to speak. We can leave the what if war. We can go to God in prayer and give to the Lord our worries and what if’s and we can surrender the war to Him. When we do that, then He fills us with His peace. We can’t have peace if we stay in the “what if” war. When we surrender to Jesus, He is there to comfort us, assure us, provide for us, and we can reside in His camp of peace. He offers us all that we need. He surrounds us with peace that surpasses all our understanding. When we let go of our worries, that doesn’t mean we know what will happen or how things will turn out. We don’t know the answers to the what if questions. It simply means that we surrender those questions to Him. It means that we are placing our worries in Jesus’ hands. We have hope that has grown into faith that says, “no matter what comes tomorrow, I hope, I have faith, that Jesus will help me and that He loves and will provide for me and He will come through.”
This past Thursday, I took a pregnancy test. It shockingly said that I am pregnant! I am 46. Pregnancy is not something I thought was in the realm of possibilities anymore. When the pregnancy tests told me I was pregnant, I felt completely overwhelmed and afraid. I was fighting the war of what if. I did not have peace. I had too many worries. So many what if questions were filling my mind. Through prayer and petition, I presented my worries, my what if’s to Jesus, and asked Him to help me. He heard my cries and prayers and has filled me with peace. I still don’t know the answers to any of my what if’s, but it’s ok. I have faith that He knows what will happen and I have faith that He loves me and even though He is doing something that doesn't make any sense to me, I have hope that He has a plan. And even though it was shocking to me (and shocking to my whole family), we are excited and hopeful at what a new child means to our family. We are trusting the Lord and thanking Him for this blessing. Romans 15:13 (NIV) says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” As we place our trust in Him, as we Hope in the Lord, He fills us with peace. Hope leads us to peace. The first candle leads us to second candle.
Sing: O Little Town of Bethlehem Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank You that we can give to You all our worries, fears and what if’s. You are waiting with arms wide open to receive all of our concerns. Thank You for loving us. Help us to place our hope in You so that You can fill us with peace. May this second week of Advent find us nearer to You, keeping our eyes on You. Please guard our hearts and our minds so that we keep our hearts and minds on You, Lord Jesus. We love you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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