Sunday Scripture

 

As I mentioned earlier, in December 2020 I used Peace, Be Still: A 31-Day Christmas prayer journal, from Women Living Well.  I'm using some of my simple study from this book as Scripture Sunday posts for this December, using different posts on each of my blogs to keep it interesting for all of my readers.  I've been using two from each week's study to use one each on my blogs, and I'm planning that maybe next December I'll use more of them.

Also -- note that this simple study does not use the SOAP method as my studies usually do.  This one includes a verse for the day, a thought for the day,  a reflection question for the day and space to write a prayer for each day.  I tended to look at the verse a little bit in depth, and I tended (but not always) to answer the reflection question in the prayer.  But of course you can use these any way you want to.   Here goes with the study for Week 4, Day 22!

Verses for the day:

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.
"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  (Philippians 4:6-7)

My study:

C.I. Scofield notes that the peace of God here is "inward peace, the state of the soul of the Christian who, having entered into peace with God, has committed all his anxieties to God through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving; this phrase emphasizes the nature of the peace granted.

Believer's Bible Commentary explains,  "This peace surpasses all understanding.  People of the world cannot understand it at all, and even Christians possessing it find a wonderful element of mystery about it.  They are surprised at their own lack of anxiety in the face of tragedy or adverse circumstances.  This peace garrisons the heart and the thought life ...".

So --

• be anxious for nothing
• pray about everything
and
• God's peace will guard your heart and mind!

Reflection question:

What do you need to give over to God today? Exchange your worry for His peace and be still.  Jesus loves you!

My prayer [remember I was writing this at the end of 2020]:

Dear God, I am so thankful for Your peace which passes all understanding.  When I commit my concerns to you in prayer, including the important element of thanksgiving, You promise that Your peace will guard my heart and mind.  The wording here shows us that Your peace surrounds us like a garrison..  What a blessing it is to have peace like this!  We're living in incredibly uncertain days surrounded by illness, civil unrest, uncertainty, and even questions about our church leadership.  I'm so thankful that I can commit all of this to You in prayer -- and receive Your peace in return.  I thank You in Jesus' name, Amen.

That's our Sunday Scripture for today!  Although this is a passage I've studied in depth in the past, it was a blessing and encouragement to me to review these verses.   I hope this look at God's incredible, unexplainable peace encouraged you as well.