Craving Peace

The beginning of the year is tough for bloggers. We all feel pressure to talk about being the best you in 2020, but it’s all been said. Go get ‘em! You got this! 2020 stands to be your best year yet!

If I’m honest, I wasn’t feeling any of that on New Year’s Day. My kids had been home too long and were bouncing off the walls scaring our new, adorable puppy and causing him to soil every surface in the house and chew up the rest. My house was cluttered and I felt like I couldn’t finish a thought without being interrupted by my kids. It wasn’t a great time to write an inspirational message about the joys of the new year.

Luckily, my husband is kind and a gifted writer so he wrote the inspirational message for me and managed to inspire me right out of my cabin fever-induced fetal position.

Twice in my reading over the past week, a passage of scripture has come up. The second time I encountered it, I stopped to think of the math of a particular passage to randomly pop up in the space of a few days. Then I remembered I have no idea how to calculate that, but I know it’s a very small chance. God himself was nudging me. I bet you’re wondering what the passage is…but first, let me say, God isn’t a part of something just because it’s kind of weird and stands out to you. God is a part of everything and as soon as we are open to that, we will see his hand in seemingly random things all over the place.

Okay. The wait is over. The passage is just two verses from Philippians:

“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.” -Philippians 4:6-7

We all want the new year to be marked with certain things: better health, better relationships, better finances, better, better, better. I wonder how many articles I’d get if I just googled the words “better” and “2020”. But you know what I crave more than “better”? It’s peace. And not just any peace. I crave “the peace of God which transcends all understanding”. It’s a kind of peace He says we won’t even understand. How amazing is that? So what do I have to do to gain this peace? Well, it’s all outlined in the first verse:

By prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present my requests to God.

Seems easy right? What if He doesn’t answer my prayer? Don’t be anxious about anything. Present your requests to God. What if it takes a long time? Don’t be anxious about anything. What if it’s a really big problem? Don’t be anxious about anything.

And what does that peace that transcends all understanding do? It guards my heart and mind in Christ Jesus. How can I possibly be anxious with a promise like that?

Here I was wallowing. Not feeling the new year and God sends me this message in his word. A promise and an recipe for peace. Do these things and you will have peace.

So Lord, I give my 2020 to you. I won’t be anxious. I will pray in every situation knowing that you are good and no one can handle my problems like you. And I will be at peace. Peace so good I won’t be able to understand it.

Thank you for being a God who keeps your promises.

Amen