PURSUE PEACE

By Dr. Randy Carlson

I’d say 90% of the people I’ve talked to on Intentional Living over the years struggle with disunity and a lack of peace. People don’t call to talk to me when everything is peaceful. That’s when life is good, right?

A lot of what you experience through the ministry of Family Life Radio is to remind people of God’s faithfulness and to provide them with an opportunity to experience His peace. Studies show that people are looking for peace.

Today, let’s visit five things the apostle Paul encourages us to do to experience peace.

Peace is not something you sit in the corner and wait for it to descend upon you like a cloud or burst of sunlight. Everything Paul talks about in the pursuit of peace is very action-oriented.

We are to pursue peace.

Paul writes in this letter from prison, “I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord” (Philippians 4:2 NKJV).

Notice he uses the word implore twice. Something was going on in the church between these two ladies that was creating division, unrest, and a lack of peace.

1. Get on the same page

I’ve been doing counseling long enough to know that the major issue that people have when they come in for marriage counseling is that they’re not of the same mind. They’re not on the same page. Opposites attract, but similarities hold us together. God instructed you not to be unequally yoked together because He knows when you get into the hard part of marriage – if you’re not of the same mind – you’re going to have problems (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).

That doesn’t mean you’ll agree on everything. There will be issues you’ll need to discuss. The same is true with sex, parenting, finances, tithing, and so many other things.

So, as believers in Christ, we have to be centered in Christ and centered in Scripture.

2. Rejoice in the Lord

In Philippians 4:4, Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice” (NKJV). Rejoice is not a feeling; it is an action. Rejoice is a decision that we make! Although everything going on in my life is going to hell, that’s the way I feel anyway, I still choose to rejoice.

It’s choosing to give God glory in the midst of whatever is going on. Paul has been there. He wrote these words while chained to a wall in prison. I don’t know about you, but I struggle with this one. It’s hard to rejoice when you’re facing a difficult situation – maybe a cancer diagnosis, a marital problem, or something with your kids. But Paul did it, and we can still have that attitude to say I choose to rejoice.     

3. Gentleness

In verse 5, Paul says, “Let your [b]gentleness be known to all men” (Philippians 4:5 NIV).

Gentleness is an interesting word because we think of it as passive. We all know people who are gentle, who sometimes allow themselves to get run over.  But there’s a strength in the kind of gentleness Paul is speaking of. He didn’t say just be gentle. He said, “Let your gentleness be known to all people.” He’s telling you to live it out. It’s an action.

A great biblical example of gentleness is when Jesus met the woman caught in adultery (John 7:53-8:11). Religious leaders probably pushed her down before His feet, saying to Jesus, “Look at what she’s done; now she deserves to be stoned” (paraphrased).

And Jesus probably didn’t raise his voice much. I don’t know. But he said, “You who have not sinned, you cast the first stone” (paraphrased). That’s pretty gentle. And then he says to this woman, “Go and sin no more.”

Gentleness brings a sense of humility, a feeling that we’re all in this boat together. We’ve all fallen short; we’ve all sinned. We’re all going down this path, and we can love people wherever they are. But we can also be firm. Jesus didn’t back down from the Pharisees, and he didn’t back down from the woman. He was very clear. He knew what He believed, and He shared it gently.

4. Refuse anxiousness

Paul goes on to say, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6 NKJV).

I’ve read this many, many times over the years, but as I was praying about this lesson, it dawned on me – Why would Paul tell us not to be anxious for nothing in the middle of this? What does anxiety have to do with peace and unity? And as I studied further, I found that the opposite of peace is anxiety.

The opposite of peace is worry.

Paul is saying, “Don’t be anxious because it’s destroying your peace” (paraphrased). Your sense of unity is being destroyed by anxiety.

Anxiety is the number one leading mental health condition in this country. Anxiety and depression go together; they’re kissing cousins.

In my thirties, I went through a period where I had panic attacks, and they would come from nowhere and hit me. My mind would start to race, and I’d tell myself, Randy, you’re a counselor; talk to yourself. I think God allowed me to struggle with anxiety in my thirties and an episode of depression in my forties that lasted for weeks so I would have a little more empathy for others.

This is the human condition that even Christians wrestle with, and no one should feel ashamed or less than in any way. As we go through these steps that Paul gives us – our spiritual steps for us as believers – we can still struggle with depression and anxiety. And if you do, get some help.

We live in this wonderful age when there can be help for some of these conditions that involve brain chemistry. God has supplied support for that kind of thing. But we should never ignore what Paul is telling us.

5. Give thanks

He says: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6 NKJV).

We understand prayer, but supplication? It’s saying, “God, I need you!” Then he added with thanksgiving. That can look like, “Lord, I love you. Thank you for your care. Thank you for providing for me; help me”.

Thanksgiving is gratitude. When we pray with a sense of gratitude, it changes our hearts and our minds. I hear a sense of gratitude coming out in the songs of worship that we play on Family Life Radio.

Then “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7 ESV).

Sometimes we want to have peace without the process. So, when we’re struggling with peace in our lives, let’s remember this formula that Paul gives us beautifully in Philippians chapter four.

If we can master these intentional steps in an active way to become a part of our everyday lives, I think we will find more peace and less anxiety. They are not feelings, but actions. You can do this.