EP 54: An All Surpassing Peace
Hey, sister. Welcome to the Daughter of Delight podcast. Whether this is your first time tuning in or you’ve been with me for a while now, I’m so glad you are here.
Today we are going to be chatting about a peace that cannot be found in the world, but only in and through our gracious and sovereign Lord, Jesus Christ. This topic is one that I personally believe we need to really sit with. I say that because it can be so hard to live in the glory and the light of the peace of God when it seems as if the world around us is falling apart. Whether or not you are someone who keeps up with everything going on on a daily basis, I’m sure you can still feel the tension and the division all the tension has and continues to create.
We are told within God’s Word not once, not twice, but 365 times to fear not. One of the best things that we can do to refrain from living in fear is to focus on living in the peace that belongs to us in Christ. It’s a peace that’s not contingent on our circumstances, which is why we can rejoice and be at peace even amidst this absolutely dark and broken and mad, mad world.
Before we really dive in to this conversation, let me share a few exciting things with you! First off, today I turn 28 and just want to give thanks and praise to the Lord for this amazing life He has so sweetly gifted me with. One of the absolute best gifts is one that’s completely undeserved, but it’s being able to say that, by His grace, I am a child of God. Thank you, Father, for reaching down in love and calling me Your own. I am so thankful. Soli deo Gloria.
Second, last week I released a new and FREE Bible Study Workbook. I love this thing and I’m so excited to finally be able to get in your hands. It’s a 23-page workbook that shares pre-study preparation tips, provides a brief overview of the 3 stages of Bible study, and is filled with over 10+ worksheets to help guide you and provide a place for you to keep track of what you are learning and how all of the dots connect as you study your way through the Word. If this is something that sounds like you could benefit from, you can download it via the link in today’s show notes!
Third, let’s talk about The Daughter of Delight Boutique for a hot minute. Because it disappeared for a hot minute, yeah? The truth is, I found out I was pregnant right around the time the boutique launched. And all was fine and dandy until I came down with severe morning sickness and basically stayed in bed for the first 80 or so days of my pregnancy. It was rough. I mean, I couldn’t even look at a screen or read a book. I mostly stared at my ceiling, sucked on Pedialyte electrolyte popsicles, and kept a bucket beside my head in case I couldn’t make it to the bathroom in time. All that being said, everything work related took a back seat- the boutique included. But let me tell you- I’ve got some super cute, Gospel-centered goodies coming your way for the fall! I actually ordered samples last week of everything, so I cannot wait to give you a sneak peek once they came. Be on the lookout via Daughter of Delight’s Instagram story!
The boutique is a really special way for you to financially support Daughter of Delight and also glorify God in what you wear and put on display to those around you. There are already a ton of super cute designs on the site, which is shopdaughterofdelight.com. Go ahead and check it out to see what’s waiting for ya!
Fourth, let’s talk about a little somethin’ somethin’ that I am currently working on and also so dang excited about. Two words: THEOLOGY WORKSHOPS. I hope that these two words excite you rather than bore you. Basically, these are going to be 45-60 minute pre-recorded classes that you can purchase and take at your own pace. Each workshop will cover a different topic. And no one knows this yet, but I am going to be offering a FREE workshop to set the tone for what to expect when more classes become available. The FREE workshop is going to be on Bible literacy, which is something everyone should be an active participant of if you ask me, and the first workshop that I will be offering is going to be on Bible Basics 101. This will be a great refresher course for those of you who have been Christians while but also a great introduction course to the Bible for new Christians, as well. I’m working pretty hard over here to get it all together, so I wanted to go ahead and get it on your radar. I’ll be sharing more specifics soon, including when the free workshop on Bible literacy becomes available. Stay tuned!
Alright, last but certainly not least, my Selah girl. If you don’t know, I am pregnant with our first child, Selah Bryn, and due with her in less than 3 months. I cannot believe I am officially in my third trimester! Things are going pretty well with this trimester so far, but I’m certainly in more pain and discomfort than I have been. But Selah is SO active and I love poking at her because she will typically poke back. I even saw her do it to me on an ultrasound. How special is that? Haha. If you are unfamiliar with her story, Selah will be born with a congenital heart defect, which means she will have to have 3 heart procedures most likely before the age of 2 or 3. The first procedure will be non-invasive, but it will also take place a day or so after she’s born, so I will not be able to really hold her in my arms after I give birth to her. Based on my understanding, she will have to go straight to the NICU to be monitored before her procedure, which will be the placement of a heart catheter. I will share the link to all of the details of her story in today’s show notes if you are interested in learning more, but for now, please pray for our day-long appointments at the hospital I will be delivering her in and she will be having her surgeries in. When you listen to this, this appointment will be taking place tomorrow, August 26th. We will be meeting with her entire medical team for several hours and then we will have another ECHO done to ensure she has no new developments, except for good ones, and going over the ECHO results with her cardiologist. It’s going to be a jam-packed day and I know we are going to be overwhelmed with information, but we are at complete peace in knowing she is in God’s sovereign hands. Please pray that her medical team is a great fit for us and that there are no negative developments discovered on her ECHO. The best part about this whole day will be getting to see her sweet face and how big she’s gotten. Thank you, thank you for the prayers, by the way! They mean more than you know and I will be sharing an update video on her after we have had time to process everything we take away from this big day.
Okay! Now let’s talk about the peace of Christ. If you are able to grab your Bible, go ahead and do so. And perhaps your journal, a pen and some highlighters, too. This will be a great note taking episode and we are going to start our conversation on the Lord’s peace by first acknowledging it as a communicable attribute of God.
Just to make sure we are on the same page here, communicable attributes refer to the attributes of God that are shared with us. Whereas incommunicable attributes are attributes of God that are much less shared with us. A great example of a communicable attribute would be the Fruit of the Spirit. A great example of an incommunicable attribute is the fact that God is unchanging. He is unchanging in His being, perfections, purposes, and promises; yet He acts and feels emotions in response to different situations.
We could have a whole conversation on the Lord’s incommunicable and communicable attributes, but the point I want to make here is that God delights in sharing His peace with us.
And we should rejoice in this truth because it is truly a peace like no other!
Let’s dive in to this some more. If you’ve got your Bible, open up to Philippians 4 with me. While you do that, let me give you some important content to be mindful of about this particular letter. This letter is authored by Paul. At the time he wrote this, he was in jail; truly a prisoner for Christ. But this letter is such a bold proclamation of good cheer in Christ that you wouldn’t know Paul was in jail had he not specified.
This letter isn’t a complaint about his circumstances. Rather, it’s a thank you. Look at verse 18 with me. Paul writes, “I have received full payment and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God” (ESV).
If we look at verse 14, Paul says, “It was kind of you to share my distress.” Paul is the one who initially founded the church in Philippi. We see this in Acts 16. He had been in jail there, too. This particular church has obviously supported Paul before, and now they are supporting him again.
If you’re wondering who Epaphroditus is that Paul mentions in verse 18, it’s safe to assume this person is a friend from church who delivered the gift that we read about in the same verse.
As Paul faces death, he writes the words we see in Philippians 4:4 that say, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say rejoice” (ESV). Let that sink in for a minute, sister. Paul was joyous and at peace with his circumstances, even with death potentially right around the corner for him.
Let me ask you- if you came face-to-face with death-like circumstances today, can you confidently say you would look to and rejoice in the peace we have in Christ? Or, would you give in to fear with your final breath? I know that sits heavy, but it is a legitimate question, and one that really puts things into perspective for us. Especially when we consider the Christians across the globe who are martyred every day for their faith.
Look at Philippians 4:6-7 with me. Paul says, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (ESV).
What a wonderful, precious promise this is to know that the peace of God, which surpasses ALL understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.
But don’t miss what Paul says before he shares the promise.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6, ESV).
Presenting our requests to God provides an outlet for our anxiety. Doing so “with thanksgiving,” as Paul says here, is the antidote to our worry. And here’s what makes that possible: it’s because when we pray with thanksgiving, even and especially in regards to the trials we face in this life, we are taking our eyes off of our circumstances in order to look to the One who is fully sovereign and fully good. We are acknowledging that even though our human minds may not understand, our great God does.
There is nothing He does not know and nothing that takes place outside of His will. Because of these things, we can trust in Him to reveal what we need to know, when we need to know it, and to be our guide and our peace along the way.
Speaking of peace, the peace of God is promised to protect those who pray--with thanksgiving-- about everything. When we do this, something really wonderful happens. God’s peace transcends our ability to understand. This is a good and beautiful thing! It means that, although we cannot understand everything in this life, we can be at peace in the midst of experiencing what we don’t understand because we are in Christ; because we belong to the One who does understand.
Now, the peace of God may not make our circumstances easier to bear physically, but it does make us stronger and more equipped to bear them spiritually when we view the pain and suffering that saturates this world through the lens of the cross. Jesus endured every pain possible in his sinless life. He tells us in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives” (ESV). Christ’s atonement for our sins made a way for us to have a relationship with the Lord and enjoy and live in His peace.
This is the same peace Paul wrote the letter of Philippians with and the same peace he calls us to, and for good reason.
When we live in this peace, we acknowledge that Christ is all-sufficient and our glorious King. When we live in this peace, we can truly rejoice because we know that no matter what happens on this side of eternity--to us, those around us, and our brothers and sisters in Christ across the glove--it’s the life that awaits us in eternity that really and truly matters.
If you find yourself longing for this peace more than you are enjoying it as God created and intended for you to, open your Bible. The best way to know God is through His Word. Open your Bible, and God will meet you there and offer you the peace you need.
Philippians 4:8 shows us how to receive God’s peace. Let’s take a look at it together:
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (ESV).
Here is what Paul is saying: our obedience to God through His Word leads to His fulfilling peace. Setting our minds on the things Paul lists here in verse 8 prepares us for purposeful, God-honoring action that demonstrates His peace within us.
I don’t know if you have ever heard the somewhat cliche of a saying, “No God, no peace; know God, know peace,” but goodness does that just about cover it. If we do not know God intimately, we will not know His peace. Open your Bible and enjoy the peace that is found in His presence today.
And as you do so, know this: The peace of God is not something our Father gives and takes away. His peace is available to us at all times. When we are not experiencing it, it’s because we are not living in direct obedience to His Word.
Thus, we are able to receive and live in it when we look to Him rather than our circumstances and acknowledge Him as the One who sustains and supplies our every need. We do not have access to His peace because of anything we have or ever will do, but only because of His grace and grace alone.
To wrap up our time together today, I want to the read Philppians 4:6-8 altogether:
“...do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (ESV).
My dear sister, take heart and choose the all-surpassing peace that comes from our Father above today.
Thank you so much for tuning in to today’s episode on the peace of God. I pray it encouraged you to take heart and seek His peace in all things, at all times, because of the hope we have in Christ and the confidence this hope brings that He is on the throne; that He is the truly One who reigns.
If you enjoyed our time together today, please take a moment to leave an iTunes rating & review. This is a special way to show your appreciation for the podcast because (1) I read every single review any time one comes through and (2) it helps other listening ears discover it.
Sister, thanks so much for being a part of the Daughter of Delight community. I will be back with you next Tuesday for Ask Elle and Wednesday, September 8 for our next full-length episode. Until then, and always for the matter, may the abundant, all-surpassing peace of Christ rule and reign in your heart! Talk with you soon!