by Stephanie Thompson, City Church Kids Director

Holy War.

"Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus." - Paul [Philippians 4:6-7]

Guard: Paul's choice of a military term implies that the mind is in a battle zone and needs to be "protected by a military guard." Since the purpose of such a guard in a wartime situation is either to prevent a hostile invasion or to keep the inhabitants of a besieged city from escaping, the peace of God operates in the same way: to protect the mind from external corrupting influences and to keep the mind focused on God's truth. -NKJV

In this passage, Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, is prohibiting [Be anxious for nothing] the body of believers, a.k.a the church, from worrying about their own problems. He suggests that they pray and trust the Lord to provide their deliverance. In essence, he is inviting us to commune with the Lord. We, through the ultimate sacrifice of His son, are invited to approach his throne and petition, thank and ask Him for whatever it is that we want or feel we need. Then, the peace of the Lord, which stretches beyond our human comprehension, will act as a soldier to protect both our heart and our mind because both of them are susceptible to war. Yes, that's right, war. You, believer, will experience warfare at some point throughout the duration of your God gifted life, if you don't already on a daily basis. That is not a warning or a scare tactic, it is a fact, and Paul is stating it here. He is preparing us with the appropriate armor and weapons we need for this war. They are prayer, supplication (which is humble prayer), thanksgiving, request and acceptance. If we desire to fight and win, we must arm ourselves with His resurrection and then humble ourselves to accept His peace. His peace will serve as fuel to sustain you during times of both battle and rest. You were created to partake in a Holy communion with the Lord and your soul will not rest until the battle has been won. And believer, you will win if you choose daily to fight with the Lord and not against or apart from the Lord. And to be honest, it's really not about winning, but it's about your soul's craving to be in relationship with that which made it. Our soul's yearning for Him is a pure and hold representation of His love and desire for us.   

Paul makes it sound so easy in this passage. Well, it sounds so easy because it is so easy. We, sinners and broken people living in a broken world, make it impossibly difficult. We worry and stress and obsess and make ourselves sick with discontentment our of our free will. We make an active choice. This is not to excuse real trial and struggle. Life, in fact, is hard. Crap happens, things fall apart, people hurt us, wars start, loved ones die, etc, etc. These things are not absent or immune to the presence and peace of God. He resides where you reside. If life happens, God is happening. In fact, He's chasing you, and you're running like Forrest to escape his low and peace because, after all, isn't that what got you in this big mess of crap happening in the first place? You trust Him and He zapped ya. You gave up control and lost everything. You fought like hell and it didn't pan out. This is called ministry. This is what happens when the rubber meets the pavement. This is when your story starts to unfold a little more. This is where the Lord uses evil, sickness, death, disaster, failure, and your life for the good of His Kingdom. Because it's about Him, and not about what happens to you. Your response to what happens to you is His ministry through you. We are merely vessels, my friends. If only we would cease our worry and anxiety and recognize that we were created for a Heavenly world and that we are on a sacred journey with our Creator. Stop worrying and start treasuring this journey with the One who made ya. He is waiting. 

I will be prayerfully petitioning for our community, here at City Church, to not only read Paul's words, but to lock them in our minds and heart, where they may find refuge and hope to carry us through this holy war. You must know that you were already fought for and worth the ultimate sacrifice.  

"...suffering is God's tool to shape Godly character within you." - Peter

(Stephanie Thompson is the City Church Kids Director and a consumer of all things coffee flavored. She dabbles in deep cleaning and sterilization of all things Kids related and enjoys a good surprise every once in a blue moon. She studied PR & Communications at The Florida State University and yes, her hair is naturally THIS curly. She can be reached by email at stephanie@citychurchtallahassee.com)