7

HAVING PEACE IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE

Chapter Theme

One of the lessons from 2 Thessalonians 3:16, 18 is that as we are what we ought to be. God infuses us with His peace and grace, and that has a wonderful way of crowding out anxiety.

Icebreaker

Reflect on emergency situations you have been through in the past. Focus on one that is still clear in your mind. What do you remember thinking about at the time? What helped get you through the ordeal?

Group Discovery Questions

1. What is a common definition of peace? How does it fall short in explaining godly peace?

2. Fill in the blanks: The peace that God gives is not subject to the _____ of _____.

3. Describe peace as an attribute of God.

4. Study Psalm 85:8. What is a New Testament parallel to that verse?

5. Summarize what Thomas Watson said about the false peace of the wicked.

6. How can the peace God gives His children be interrupted? How can it be restored?

7. What is one way of demonstrating to the world that Jesus keeps His promises?

8. How did God’s grace help Paul in a trial that brought him great anxiety?

9. What are some of the things God’s grace does for us? What are the conditions for receiving it?

Personal Application Questions

1. On the ocean’s surface there is often great agitation, but underneath, the water becomes increasingly calm to the point of being virtually still. Survey teams dredging this calm area of the ocean floor have found animal and plant remains that appear to have been undisturbed for hundreds of years. This “cushion of the sea,” as it is called by oceanographers, is like the peace experienced by Christians. Regardless of the anxiety and trouble in a Christian’s surroundings, there is a cushion of peace in his soul. That’s because he knows the Prince of Peace and has within him the Spirit of peace given by the God of peace. How is that area in your life? Are you allowing the turbulence around you to get down deep within you and disturb it?

2. It is easy to forget that peace with God inevitably results in war with the world. Vance Havner said,

Let it not be forgotten that a twice-born and Spirit-filled Christian is always a contradiction to this old world. He crosses it at every point. From the day that he is born again, until he passes on to be with the Lord he pulls against the current of a world forever going the other way.

If he allows it, men will tone him down, steal the joy of his salvation, reduce him to the dreary level of the average.… Most church folk dislike having their Laodicean complacency upset by those who insist on walking by faith and not by sight.6

Are you at peace with God or the world? A faith that draws peace from heaven finds life on earth a continual struggle. But it is the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 1:18–19).

Focus on Prayer

In John 16:26 we learn that we have direct access to the Father through prayer. From Romans 8:26, 34 we learn that God will intercede for us when we need His help. What do those truths tell you about how much God wants to communicate with you and help you? Are you as passionate to pray to God as He is to listen to your prayers? Pray to Him about what’s on your heart right now. His peace awaits you.

Assignment

Philippians 4:9 connects godly living with God’s peace. Read Proverbs 1:33 and 28:1 to see that connection as well. Then write Philippians 4:6–9 on a card and memorize it. Ask for the Lord’s help in overcoming anxiety when you are tempted to worry, meditating on the memorized Scripture. Doing so will reinforce godly thinking and living.

Notes

6 Vance Havner, The Secret of Christian Joy (New York: Revell, 1938), 54–55.