Grace Community Church, Arlington, TX

The Apostle Paul writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit about how we can experience Peace. In fact, he tells us how to experience the peace of God and the God of peace. And he does it all in one passage of scripture.

1. Choose to Rejoice.

Phil 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

Choose to rejoice…always! Not sometimes. Not only when life is going your way. Always.

Ps 118:24 This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Our rejoicing begins with God Himself. Not our situation.

Our rejoicing begins with our focus being on our good God. Even in the midst of life’s difficulties, we can rejoice in the goodness of God.

Another reason is…because of what Christ has done for you.
Luke 10:20 “…rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

There are so many reasons to rejoice today.

David talks to his own soul. Commands his soul to bless the Lord. Sometimes rejoicing means preaching truth to yourself.
It says to rejoice in the Lord always before it says to be anxious for nothing.

The Greek word that is translated “anxiety” or “worry” is the word “Merimna”. It means to “be in pieces.”
This same word is used in the story of Mary and Martha. Mary is seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But her sister Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Jesus and said, …

Martha is described as being “Merimna”—worried and bothered by many things—because she is distracted by all the tasks she feels she must accomplish. In contrast, Mary chooses to focus on one thing: sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to Him.
Jesus points out to Martha that Mary has chosen the “one thing needful,” highlighting the contrast between being distracted by many worries and being single-mindedly focused on Christ.
This focus is what brings peace, because peace is defined as confidence and trust in God’s wise and good control of our lives.

Giving thanks before the answer comes is another key to peace. By thanking God in advance, believers express trust that God’s response—whatever it may be—is good and wise.

Peace comes from talking to your heart about what is good and true, rather than listening to your heart and letting it spiral into worry. You can’t just make your mind stop thinking about something. You must direct your mind to think about something different.

What things did Paul teach them? The Word of God. What did Paul model for them? A life of obedience to God’s Word.
Do what the Word of God says to do, and the God of peace will be with you.

Some people say that they can’t help the way that they feel. But the truth of the matter is that how we think determines how we feel. And the good news is that how we think can be changed.