The word “peace” occurs over 400 times in the Bible.
Yet how many people do you know who have peace with God but don’t have the peace of God? They’re filled with anxiety, and they can’t live a day without worry.
The truth is all of us face some of these issues.
How Can We Not Be Anxious about Anything?
When Paul tells the church in Philippians, “Do not be anxious about anything,” the word “anxious” literally means to be pulled in two different directions. It means to have an inward war going on inside, a battle going on in your spirit, pulling you apart.
When we read further, we are told, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy —meditate on these things… and the God of peace will be with you.”
In a world that is increasingly chaotic, scriptural truth — truth to steady you, encourage you, motivate you, purify you, and give you cheerful hope on dreary days — is more important than ever.
One of the greatest truths of the Bible, and the one that gives me the most peace and hope, is Christ’s return.
This is something to think about upon rising in the morning and retiring at night. This isn’t just the light at the end of the tunnel; it’s the light that heralds eternity, heaven, and the fulfillment of all God has promised His children.
How we need this anticipation! It’s our glorious hope in a world filled with hopelessness.
What Is Our Hope?
The Bible uses the word hope repeatedly to describe the feelings we should currently have because of this imminent event. Peter called it a “living hope” (1 Peter 1:3), and he said we could rest fully on that hope as we await the coming of Jesus (v. 13).
The writer of the Book of Hebrews called it “an anchor of the soul” (v. 19). The Apostle Paul said this hope will never disappoint us (Romans 5:5).
When the Bible uses the word hope in this sense, it doesn’t simply mean a desire that may or may not occur. It means the “eager expectation” for something that will certainly happen, that is impending and swiftly coming.
Biblical hope is the excitement we feel today about what Jesus will do tomorrow. In other words, when we grasp the reality of the approaching Rapture, it brings today’s events into a happy perspective. There is an end to evil.
There is an expiration date on suffering. There’s coming a Great Day when we’ll realize the sufferings of this present world aren’t worth comparing to the glory that’s about to be revealed (Romans 8:18).
The energy that surges through us as we ponder this reality — well, that’s what the Bible calls hope. When we think about this and thank God for this promised future, His peace surrounds us.
Whether it’s the people you surround yourself with, whatever is on television, or whatever fills your social media feed, you’ve got to get away from always stuffing your mind with the ugliness of the world in which you live.
Our thought life is supposed to be positive, uplifting, and redemptive because our thought life is the launch pad for our outward life. If you want your mind to be free of anxiety, make determined, definite choices as to what you allow into it.
This Hope Eliminates Our Anxiousness
We don’t need to be anxious or have our thoughts pulled in different directions because we know there’s a bright light on the horizon, and we have plenty of evidence.
The Rapture assures us that this present world is not all there is to life — it is simply a temporary part of the beginning of a new existence in our new, perfect, glorious bodies.
That is the hope we cling to as followers of Jesus.
For further reading:
How to Have Hope in Anxious Times
3 Things to Remember When You Can’t ‘Not Be Anxious’
What Does it Mean ‘Be Anxious for Nothing’? (Philippians 4:6)
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Tero Vesalainen
