Each one of us in life will have to face a frightening or perhaps dangerous situation, from time to time. These are instances where we not only feel threatened by whatever is taking place, but there also appears to be no easy or perhaps any means of escaping the said circumstance. Such life events will come in various packages, some of which may involve physical safety, the wellbeing of your family, your source of income, health, and the list goes on. I’m sure you can look back, and easily recall a time or multiple times when you went to bed at night, feeling anxious and perhaps a bit sick to your stomach, because of a threatening situation that was bringing you much uncertainty.

Like I mentioned, it is a very wide list concerning the many anxiety inducing situations that all human beings, both believers and non-believers, will have to face from time to time— while living under the curse of sin. Yet unlike the non-believer, we as children of God, are promised a very special gift within the pages of Scripture. This is something that will without a doubt help us to get through even the most dreadful obstacles of life, and still keep our godliness and overall dignity as followers of Christ. Paul the apostle, while under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, spoke of this gift when writing to the Philippian church stating,

“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” (Phil. 4:6-7, NIV).

While growing up in the Christian Church, I frequently heard pastors and Bible teachers mention this, “peace of God which transcends all understanding.” Yet, I never quite understood the true meaning of what exactly it was, or how we as believers were able to access it. There were times during my teenage years, when I would kneel down and pray that God would send me this special peace— in order to relieve the anxieties that I often struggled with as an adolescent. I would actually lift up these prayers to God, and then expect Him at that exact moment in time, to immediately fill me with a wave of tranquility— as if this peace of God was some sort of supernatural energy, granted to believers whenever we wished. It wasn’t until my young adult years, when I finally came to a realization of how we should understand this special peace spoken of by Paul, and how we can experience it in our everyday lives.

The first thing I would like to focus in on within this Scripture passage, is the “thanksgiving” that the apostle is stating must accompany our prayers. Within the context of what Paul is writing, it appears there is a correlation between the thanksgiving that we offer up, and the peace of God which is promised to us. Commentator Thomas Constable writes in his expository notes on Philippians,

“Thanksgiving” (eucharistias) is grateful acknowledgment of past mercies, including the fact that He has heard and will answer our prayer” (109).

With the above in mind, I would invite you to think about a time when the Lord undoubtably protected or delivered you from a difficult circumstance. Perhaps there are many instances that you can think of, where things seemed hopeless— yet God nevertheless was able to come through, and give you victory in the situation. Based upon all we have covered thus far, I believe that these past life events where God gave us victory, should be brought up regularly in our prayers of thanksgiving to Him. This will serve to remind God that we are grateful for His past provision upon our lives. It will also, and perhaps more importantly, serve to remind ourselves— that the Lord is in fact able to deliver us out of our present trials, since He has done so during our past tribulations. Once we fully grasp this, it will undoubtably bring us great comfort, and will partly serve to bring us this special peace that is ours to experience as followers of Christ.

I would like to draw attention to a second thing mentioned by the apostle within this Scripture passage. This is the fact that this special peace we are promised, “transcends all understanding.” Other translations have it put— “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension” (NASB). No matter how it is written, this portion of the text is referring to how this special peace, is unlike anything that is offered anywhere else. There are no other religions, or belief systems, that can offer us a peace that is so satisfying, long lasting, and effective against the worst anxieties. And on this note, we can now get into the basis of how believers can have access to this peace that is written about here in Philippians 4.

The foundation of this peace that surpasses all understanding, lies in the certainty believers have— that God WILL hear all the requests that are lifted up to Him, and WILL handle all of the situations that are handed over to Him by His children. When you pray to the the Lord about any type of gut-wrenching situation, you can always have peace— knowing that God has heard you prayer, and the situation is now in His hands. This is a certainty that atheists, agnostics, or even some religious people, do not have. Only true born again believers can know and be certain that their trial or life dilemma, is in good hands—- as it is in the hands of the One who has made Heaven and Earth.

There will be times when we will lift up our requests to God— yet our trial or predicament will continue for a season. This doesn’t mean that God has not heard the prayers offered to Him, but rather it may not yet be His appointed time for us to be delivered from our difficult situation. What matters though, is that He has indeed heard our requests, and the situation is in His hands. God handling the situation, means that He will do exactly what is written in Romans 8:28, which reads, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (NIV). Therefore, we can then move forward— having faith in God’s plan for our lives— and knowing that He has allowed us to experience whatever hardship it may be— for a reason.

So since our lives are in God’s hands, then that means every difficulty or obstacle that we encounter—- is certainly in His hands. And knowing this, we can have great peace—- the likes of which nothing else on earth has to offer.