Producing the Fruit of Peace
Philippians 4:4-7)" data-pin-description="Peace isn't found when life becomes easy.
Peace is found when we discover that Christ is with us in the middle of life's storms.
This week's blog explores Every time I hear the words “Let there be peace on earth…” I think of the absence of conflict. But the meaning changes when I hear the next phrase of that song, “and let it begin with me.” The song is not about the absence of conflict as much as it is being at one with God and at one with the people around me.
Biblical peace is not merely avoiding conflict. It is actively pursuing right relationships and justice. Jesus said: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9). Peacemakers do more than keep the peace. They work to restore broken relationships, seek justice, forgive, and embody God’s reconciling love. But this peace must be rooted in God’s grace. It is not a peace negotiated. It is a peace cultivated.
The Hebrew word for peace is “shalom.” It reveals the way God intended the world to be. The Greek word for peace is “eirene” which carries with it the same intention as God’s shalom.
When Paul says that peace is a fruit of the Spirit, he is saying that peace is not something we manufacture through positive thinking but is the work of the Holy Spirit with us.
Read Philippians 4:4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Reflect on Philippians 4:4-7
This verse is one of Paul’s greatest promises about God’s peace. Paul is writing from prison. His own circumstances are uncertain, yet he repeatedly calls the Philippians to rejoice, pray, and trust.
Verse 6 he says, “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
Verse 7 is God’s response to a life of trusting prayer. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
This means that “the peace of God” comes from who God is. This peace is not just our feelings or our positive thinking. It is the deep assurance that God is present and faithful.
It means that God’s peace is greater than our explanation. When Paul writes, “which surpasses all understanding” he is explaining a peace that is greater than the absence of conflict. It is a peace that is not dependent on our circumstances.
When Paul writes that this peace of God “will guard your hearts and your minds,” I can imagine him looking at the Roman soldiers guarding the prison. The Greek word for “guard” is a military term” meaning to stand watch over or to protect like soldiers guarding a city.
I can imagine him looking at the soldiers. He is communicating that God’s peace watches over our emotions, fears, and desires, as well protects our thoughts from unwarranted anxiety. God’s peace protects us from making up what we do not know.
I think that it is important to understand that God’s peace does not remove difficult circumstances but protects us in the midst of them.
Think of it this way. Imagine a medieval city surrounded by the army of the enemy. The people inside the city sleep peacefully because strong guards stand watch on the walls.
Paul says God’s peace does the same thing for us. Anxiety, fear, discouragement, and doubt may knock at the gates, but God’s peace stands guard over our hearts and minds.
Respond to Philippians 4
In 1873, Horatio Spafford, a successful Chicago lawyer and devoted Christian, experienced unimaginable loss.
First, much of what he owned was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire. Shortly afterward, he sent his wife and four daughters ahead of him on a ship to Europe while he stayed behind on business.
As the ship crossed the Atlantic, it collided with another vessel and sank in just twelve minutes. His wife survived. Their four daughters did not.
When she reached England, she sent him a telegram with just two words: “Saved alone.” Spafford immediately boarded a ship to join her. During the voyage, the captain called him to the bridge and quietly said, “A careful reckoning has been made. We are now passing over the place where your daughters were lost.”
Standing on the deck, looking out over the endless sea, Spafford did something remarkable. Instead of surrendering to despair, he entrusted his grief to God. Later, he wrote these now-famous words:
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Spafford’s circumstances were not peaceful. His heart was broken. Yet God gave him a peace that defied explanation.
That is what Paul means in Philippians 4:7. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
God’s peace is not the absence of sorrow. It is the presence of Christ in the deepest sorrow. It is the peace that guards a grieving heart when there is no human reason for hope.
The world says peace comes when the storm ends. The gospel says peace comes when Christ is in the boat with you. Horatio Spafford still faced unimaginable grief, but God’s peace stood guard over his heart. That is the promise of Philippians 4:7, not that life will always be well, but that, in Christ, our souls can be.”
How are you cultivating peace in your life? What stands in the way of your having God’s deep and abiding peace? In what relationships and/or circumstances can you experience God’s peace today?
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Give thanks for the people you encountered today. In what ways did you experience the peace of God? In what ways did you help others experience God’s peace? With whom do you need to celebrate the joy you experience in and through them? What will you do differently tomorrow?
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