Philippians 4:6-7 NLT
[6] “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. [7] Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Peace…what the world lacks most. Peace…what Jesus said the world cannot give. His Peace…what Jesus bequeathed to His disciples on the eve of His death.

One attitude Jesus always exuded was peace, even in the darkest hour of His life. The religious leaders, the Jews, the Roman soldiers, Herod, and Pilate could not destroy His peace. How could anyone in the circumstances Jesus faced remain calm and unfazed when His life was at stake and threatened in the most extreme way? His confidence lay in His union with the Father.

Isaiah painted a word picture of the supernatural peace which held Jesus steady in the face of extreme suffering…

Isaiah 53:7-8 NLT
[7] “He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. [8] Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people.”

… a peace so remarkable that the criminal dying beside Jesus realised that Jesus was no ordinary man.

Luke 23:42-43 NLT
[42]” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” [43] And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

This is the peace Jesus promised to His disciples but…how can we experience this peace that steadies and supports us throughout our lives?

Paul said it’s simple. Make an exchange! Worry and anxiety are expressions of doubt and unbelief and they neutralise peace. So, Paul says, give God your all the issues that trouble you and He will give you His peace.

Psalms 55:22 NLT
[22] “Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

When Paul says, “Pray about everything,” he doesn’t mean waffle about how bad things are. He means, in down-to-earth language, “Spill your guts to God.” Now that might sound rough but it works.

God isn’t fazed by anything we tell Him. He doesn’t hear pious, insincere prayers but He does listen to an honest confession of what’s going on inside.

David understood this principle. He was aware of God’s absolute knowledge of his innermost being. He knew he could hide nothing from Him so, he invited God to open his soul to himself and show him what was inside.

Psalms 139:23-24 NLT
[23] “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. [24] Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

This is the kind of prayer that invites God’s scrutiny and allows us to dump all our issues on Him. It’s the honesty that enables us to trade anxiety in whatever form it takes for the peace that Jesus promised.

Jesus’ peace, which is an integral part of who He is, becomes ours only through the absolute trust in Him that abandons on Him our reasoning, our logic, our tumultuous emotions when stuff happens. This is the faith that refuses to entertain anything other than the love and goodness of God in every situation.

John 14:27 NIV
[27] “PEACE I leave with you; MY PEACE I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

John 16:33 NIV
[33] “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have PEACE. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus’ peace keeps us rock-solid steady no matter what happens because He is its source and He can never fail us.

Now, there is a key to this kind of immovable, indestructible, what someone called, “furious serenity”…

“Peace is a furious serenity that refuses to submit to chaos.”

I love that, don’t you?

Paul inserted two little words into his prescription for God’s peace…”with thanksgiving.” Gratitude neutralises all doubt, unbelief, anxiety, and fear. It is impossible to be thankful and anxious at the same time. Every time we thank God for his love and goodness in all circumstances, we drive anxiety out of our souls.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT
[18] “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

Now, let’s look at Paul’s way of experiencing the “furious serenity” Jesus promised to give us.

Show God you have an honest heart. Then cultivate a thankful heart. Give God your stuff with a willing heart. He will respond by giving you a peaceful heart.

The peace Jesus gives us is so strong and real that it will post an impenetrable guard around our hearts and minds, protecting who we are and what we think against all enemy intrusion.