Peace that Passes Understanding
Philippians 4:5-7 has long been one of my favorite scriptures. I love the connections made between God being near, not being anxious, and our thankful communication with God, making our requests known to Him.
As I was studying for a recent ladies’ day, I was reminded of something we noticed in my Wednesday night Bible class some time ago that, to me, is the best example of that peace in the Bible. It should come as no surprise that the perfect example comes from our Lord, but maybe not a time when you would expect it.
In the gospels we read of His pleading with God to allow the cup set before Him to pass away (Matthew 26:39). In fact, Luke, the physician, records that He was praying so earnestly and with such vigor, that His sweat “became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44).
This does not feel like a peaceful time in our Savior’s life but I want to focus on what came in the next moments. Specifically in Mark 14:42 we read: “Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” Do you understand the resolve and peace that had to reside in Jesus’s heart and mind to walk toward the crowd that came to arrest Him?
To me, that is a peace that passes understanding. When I am begging God for something specific, yet I see the opposite about to happen, and I walk toward that difficult thing because I know He is with me … that is the ultimate peace.
How was He able to do this? Back up to verse 36 where we read Jesus’s words that allow this ultimate peace: “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” If I can get my will so in tune with God’s that I can face anything this earth may throw at me, I will have that peace that passes understanding because I understand that I am not in control … He is.
AUTHOR: Amber Tatum
