FINDING PEACE IN TROUBLED TIMES

1. Finding Peace In Troubled Times

a) The world is a scary place. Every time you listen to the news there are more attacks, more shootings, more darkness, more uncertainty. It can be enough to make you want to stay at home and hide. In times like this it is easy to get fixated on the darkness.

b) Regardless of how dark or uncertain it may feel, God is ever constant and your identity is secure in Him. Knowing who God is and who you are in Him is the steadfast anchor for all our circumstances.

c) Philippians 4:7 promises if we bring everything to God, His peace which passes all understanding, will guard our heart and mind through Christ Jesus. That word guard is much stronger than our English language expresses. In the Greek it means “to protect by a military guard, either to prevent hostile invasion, or to keep the inhabitants of a besieged city from flight.”

d) God’s peace not only keeps out invaders, but keeps us from running away in fear. So how do we live in that peace? The Message translation of the same verse ends with this phrase, “It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”

e) It is time to choose to guard your heart and mind with the truth of who God is and who you are in Him, allowing who He is to displace all worry and guard you from attack and from your fear.