Are you anxious about your circumstances? Do you need to experience peace?

I’m Dr. Chuck and here’s today’s spoonful of courage:

Let me ask you a question; has it ever crossed your mind that you don’t need to pray for peace? Let me unpack that statement because it may be a little confusing. I’m not suggesting that you don’t pray and I’m not suggesting that peace doesn’t come from prayer, absolutely not, but has it ever crossed your mind that God has already given you peace before you even pray for it? 

A better prayer may be this: God help me appropriate the peace that you have already given me based upon your completed word. If you know Christ, you have the peace of Christ, it comes with the package. The free gift given to you. The outflow of the spirit of Christ which dwells in every believer has already been given to you. In the upper room discourse, Jesus prepares the disciples for his crucifixion.

Listen to his words in John 14: “ Peace I leave with you, peace I give you not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful”.

There’s something unique about the peace that Jesus gives. It isn’t experienced through self-effort, earned through self-sufficiency, or preserved through self-determination; it’s freely given. This peace flows from the adequacy of Christ and this tranquility of heart has been freely given.

God’s peace, which is unique from the world, has been deposited in our lives because of the spirit. It’s the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Since the God of peace lives within you, you have the access to the peace of God. Go back and read Philippians 4:6-9. Jesus, the prince of peace, has given you all the peace you need.

So when you feel anxious, pray. Ask God to help you embrace the peace of God and the God of peace. If you’re fretting the future, a past failure, a perplexing decision, a health challenge, whatever it is, as you pray take hold of God’s promise in Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus”.