Head of Paul the Apostle of Lutheran Church of St Peter and St Paul in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Let’s look deeper into Paul’s audacious statement for clues on how to have peace beyond understanding. Typically, we think of peace as found in two ways. Peace is found by finding good circumstances. Or alternatively peace is found by getting a better understanding of ourselves, adjusting our minds, and placing a barrier between ourselves and the turmoil. But Paul is making a claim that we can have peace outside of these two approaches. Peace can be found even in life’s constant conflict that doesn’t require avoiding problems or detachment from them.

Paul life has been lived in conflict. In Philippians chapter 4 where he makes this statement, Paul is writing back to the people he first met when bringing the gospel of Jesus. For this “good deed” Paul is thrown in jail. He responds by singing hymns late into the night and God opens his prison chains leading to one of the most famous thwarted jail break outs in history. The break out fails only because Paul and his buddy Silas refuse to leave the jail. This leads, not to the death of jailer and his family as they first try to kill themselves to avoid being executed for allowing the jail break, but to their eternal salvation. Conflict continues in Philippi even to the time of the writing of the letter approximately 10 years later, even among those whose names are written in the book of life, as we see him implore Euodia and Syntyche to reconcile as their contentions had reached his ear far away. 

Peace beyond understanding in the conflict according to Paul starts with a surprising announcement. Rejoice. Paul could have started out at a lot of other places like morality (just be better and you will find peace), knowledge (just learn more and you will find peace), and deep concern (just care better and you will find peace) but he does not start out with any of these. He starts out by saying rejoice.

But just how do we rejoice like God wants us to rejoice? Let’s look to David. The great warrior and poet. In Samuel 6, David returns triumphantly with the ark of the covenant and where do we find him. He is out dancing in front. He is dancing in a way that is apparently anything but kingly and proud.  He actually embarrasses his wife Michal. But he is genuine and unselfconscious. This scene is reminiscent of the father who represents God in the parable of the Prodigal son who runs undignified to the returning and unworthy errant son.  

Clue #1: Peace beyond understanding involves being a rejoicing person who is focused on God and is authentic and unconcerned about what others think about him. 

Paul follows up with the instruction to be gentle and let our gentleness be known. Well, how can we be both enthusiastically authentic and gentle. Daniel of lions den fame might be a good place to start. He lived and worked as a leader in a very hostile system, a system that rewarded his faithful service with several near death experiences including being thrown into a den of lions, but Daniel paid back this craziness by blessing others with the backing of the Holy Spirit. Daniel was focused on God keeping the laws of God but also in blessing those around him. 

Clue # 2: Peace beyond understating requires focus on God’s laws and others and is not disrupted by the chaos of the moment.

Next, Paul tells us outright not be anxious. That seems almost as bad as telling someone who is upset to just calm down. It doesn’t really work that well. We as people are bathed in worry and anxiety. Economic estimates on the effect of anxiety run at 300 billion in lost productivity each year. But just like Paul, counterculture and counter intuitive Jesus also tells us outright to not worry. In addition, He tells us impossibly to be perfect which is impossible. What do we do with a standard we can’t meet like never worrying or being perfect? We do the only thing we can do. We come broken to the cross in realizing our inability to keep the commandments of God on our own effort. 

Clue # 3: Peace beyond understanding requires us to understand God’s impossible standards and brings us to our knees and to the cross crying out to the Lord that I can’t do it on my own. Holy Spirit help me.

Ok what else? Paul says to pray and ask God for what we need. We can take our energy away from a useless worry and place it on prayer. But do we pray really expecting answers? Well, it you don’t you are in good company and shouldn’t feel bad. Look at what Jesus closest follows do within a year of his resurrection. Peter has just been miraculously freed from jail by God and shows up to the prayer meeting where everyone is praying to free him and this is their response. They don’t believe it cold happen.

He came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, “It is his angel.” Acts 12:12

Clue #4: Despite our doubts, God tells us not to give up and be persistent, and that the Holy Spirit is groaning in prayer for us in ways we don’t even know. 

Paul follows this up with a key element. That element is Thanksgiving. Are we grateful for the blessings already received? How excited are we to poor out good things to an ungrateful child, neighbor, or co-worker? Of course, God is much greater than us even dying for us while we were enemies of him. But we aren’t enemies anymore, and we should be deeply thankful. Instead we, or maybe I should confess and say I, instead of being thankful can often be suspicious of God’s motives constantly questioning what he is up to. I am often asking why are things not like I think they should be even though they are just like God tells us they will be in the Bible.

Clue #5: Peace beyond understanding is intimately connected with thankfulness. This puts the focus back on God who created both us and our neighbor and holds eternity in his hands.

The Christian life is not a formula but a relationship of love We just don’t do certain things and get certain predicted results. As much as most of us desperately want this, I suppose ultimately for eternity that would be dreadfully dull. But God encourages us towards having peace in all circumstances, and we should obey his commands and let the Holy Spirit work out his purposes.

Doug

The words of British poet Robert Abrahams say it well, “For some men die by shrapnel, And some go down in flames, But most men perish inch by inch, In play at little games.”  Our goal is to identify the little games and put a stop to them and put the right weight on the right things.