5 Ways To Replace Worry With Peace!

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4:4-9

How To Replace Your Worry With God's Peace

#1: By Rejoicing More

This verse starts off my telling us who are worried to start rejoicing or praising God.  To ignore this is to ignore a command from God.

Instead of worry about the stressful situations of life we should look at the more humorous side of things.  My mom was great at doing this.  I can remember sharing with my mom some very frustrating things only to see my mom start chuckling about them.  When I'd ask why she was laughing at my worries she would just say,

"I know this situation is very sad and hard on you and if I'd let it I could easily start crying. But I don't want to cry so I choose to smile and giggle instead."

What my mom had learned was that worrying about something or being at peace about something was a choice we make.  So, instead of worry let's decide to:

• Laugh more
• Sing more
• Dance more
• Celebrate more

In other words let's decide to REJOICE more!

#2: By Relaxing More

Did you notice what the verse in Philippians said?,

"Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."

That word "Gentleness" can mean "Easy" or we could say "Taking it easy"!

The instruction of scripture is instead of stressing out about a situation take it easy and relax. Why? Because you know that God is in control.

#3: By Praying More

"Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard you hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

• It Says Not To Worry About Anything: What God is saying is that there is nothing in this world that should cause us to be worried, so stop it!

• Instead, Pray About Every Situation That Might Cause Worry.  Pray about everything. Share with God about your every need.  And thank Him for how he has and will continue to meet your needs and look out after you.

#4:  By Feeding More

" ... whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (v.8)

You get rid of worry when you are constantly feeding your mind positive, uplifting and God thoughts!  

When you are going through a tough time force yourself to take your attention away from the troubles you are experiencing and place it on all the blessings that God has given to you.  There are always positive things going on around us but many times we have to force ourselves to look for them.

#5:  By Following More

" ... Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you."

Paul was telling the Christians in Philippi to follow his example of how to live a life of peace that was free from worry.  How could Paul say that?  Because he also shared with them that he had discovered the secret of being content in any and every situation.  To be content means you are no longer worrying and Paul had learned how to experience that state of mind on a moment-by-moment and day-by-day basis.

We too should follow the example of others Christians who also have learned how to live that life of freedom from fear.  These kinds of saints have a lot they can teach us and we listen and follow their example.

I hope this blog post has encouraged you, empowered you and equipped you for a more faithful life on mission for Christ!

ALLOWING GOD'S PEACE TO RULE OVER YOUR LIFE!

"And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful." Col. 3:15 (HCSB)

All sports, whether it be football, basketball, baseball or whatever has an umpire, referee, or some kind of official to make sure the game is played correctly and according to the rules.

They are there to "rule over" the games and participants.

In the verse we just read up above we see this word "RULE".  In the Greek this word is "brabevo". This was the umpire who would rule over those early Greek games and would hand over awards to the champions at the end of the games.

His job was too:

1. Preside
2. Direct
3. Rule over the event.

The umpires word was final in every decision of those games!

God has also given Christians, who are on mission with Christ, an umpire to help rule and control over their lives.  That umpire is:

The Peace Of God

I.  Where In Our Lives Is The Peace of God Suppose To Rule?

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7 (NIV)

1. In Our Heart: Peace is to rule over our hearts so we don't experience discouragement.  Living a powerful missional life can get discouraging from time to time. Just take a look at the 3 Missionary Journeys of the Apostle Paul. He had been beaten, stoned, whipped, imprisoned, shipwrecked and many other difficult things all for the sack of the Gospel.  But through it all Paul was still able to say that he had discovered the secret for contentment in those and many other circumstance of life. 
2. n Our Minds:  The peace that God provides is also to guard our minds from confusion.  Not only can missional living be discouraging but it can also be confusing.  The Apostle Paul tried several times to go into Asia to spread the gospel but was prevented by the Holy Spirit. How confusing was that? Why wouldn't God allow Paul to go share Christ there at that time?  But then in the midst of the confusion God gives Paul a dream of a man from Macedonia saying, "Come over here."  How often have each of us been confused what God was wanting us to do in a particular situation? God's peace is intended to comfort us until God reveals to us the direction he would us to go.

II.  Peace Is Not A Feeling - Peace Is A Person.

"For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility ..." Eph. 2:14 (NIV)

The feeling of peace comes when we are able to see Jesus Christ - the person of peace.

when I was a child I would get scared in the dark when it was time to go to sleep.  I would call out to my mom for her to come. When she would come I would get such a wonderful sense of peace and comfort from just seeing her

In part of the 23rd Psalm it says,

"Thou I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death I will fear not evil ..."  

What the Psalmist is saying is that he doesn't fear because he's got peace! Why? How does one get rid of the shadows that frighten them and able to experience peace in their life?  The answer is simple!

They Simply Stop Looking At The Shadows

And Turn And Look Into The Light! 

The only reason why you see shadows is because you have your back to the light. Once you turn around and start looking at the light the shadows disappear.  

Jesus is the Light of World. When we stop focusing on those things that worry us and turn around and look into the face of Jesus all the worries seems to disappear.

In missional living we forever need to be facing Christ, looking into His love face and gaining the encouragement that only He can provide.  We need to remember that peace we seek is the person of Christ and when we focus on Him the feeling of peace will overflow us. Powerful missional living happens as we keep our focus on the Prince of Peace - The Lord Jesus Christ!