Reminders: A Peace That Passes All Understanding
by Ardith Hoff
After a very long and boring sermon, the parishioners filed out of the church saying nothing to the preacher. At the end of the line was a person who always commented on the sermons. "Pastor, today your sermon reminded me of the peace and love of God!" he said.
The pastor was thrilled! "No-one has ever said anything like that about my preaching before. Tell me why."
"Well, it reminded me of the peace of God because it passed all understanding, and the love of God because it endured forever!"
Of course, this would never happen in any church that you or I know of, but we can imagine it, and that’s what helps us see the humor in it. Some people have to imagine that “the peace that passes all understanding” could actually exist yet God promises that it does.
“Do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
We tend to interpret this passage as meaning that we have the promise that God will be with us during difficult or scary times, but there is more. It is a promise that God will not only be with us, but that we will be with God for all of eternity. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” John 14:27
An illustration I heard recently put it this way. “A cancer patient who experiences a remission of the disease might proclaim, “I am so grateful to God! He pulled me through!” Another cancer patient who is dying and in pain might calmly say, “Everything will be fine." I claim Romans 8:28 which reads: ‘And we know that in all things God work for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose’ and I have peace in my heart.” That is “the peace that passes all understanding.” The opposite of anxiety is calm, and peace comes from having the assurance of God’s presence in our lives, and of his promise of eternal life. May His peace be with you!