Philippians: The Peace of God
Philippians 4:6-7 - Take these great words to heart and know where and how the Peace with/from/of God can be found to guard that heart.
“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 comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7 NASB1995
Ok, a show of hands! How many readers have these two verses highlighted or underlined in their favorite Bible? It’s easy to highlight verses in an electronic text, but I’m sure there are many who marked these in their dead tree Bible versions, too. They are considered “life verses”, but they are even more meaningful when read in the context of Philippians 4 in general. I like this AI image that Steve created, showing an early Christian believer praying to God and receiving His peace.
Verse 6 starts out with an imperative (a command). We are to “be anxious for nothing”. First, let’s do a word study on anxious:
This word comes from the Greek verb μεριμνάω or merimnáō (Strong’s G3309), with the following Biblical usages:
to be anxious
to be troubled with cares
to care for, look out for (a thing)
to seek to promote one's interests
caring or providing for
So this word has the obvious usage, being troubled with cares or being anxious. It also means to care for or look out for a thing, like one’s interests.
So, does anyone think that there is anxiety in our modern world? From a psychological standpoint, anxiety and related anxiety disorders are among the most diagnosed mental health conditions. According to Harvard Health, approximately 40 million Americans are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder every year. Everyone gets fearful or worried about things on occasion, but many people worry about almost everything that happens in their lives on a daily basis. Here are some salient points about anxiety from an article on Wikipedia (the links and footnotes are retained):
Anxiety is a feeling of uneasiness and worry, usually generalized and unfocused as an overreaction to a situation that is only subjectively seen as menacing.[6] It is often accompanied by muscular tension,[7]restlessness, fatigue, inability to catch one's breath, tightness in the abdominal region, nausea, and problems in concentration. Anxiety is closely related to fear,[3] which is a response to a real or perceived immediate threat (fight-or-flight response); anxiety involves the expectation of a future threat including dread.[7] People facing anxiety may withdraw from situations which have provoked anxiety in the past.[8]
The emotion of anxiety can persist beyond the developmentally appropriate time-periods in response to specific events, and thus turning into one of the multiple anxiety disorders (e.g., generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder).[9][10] The difference between anxiety disorder and anxiety (as normal emotion), is that people with an anxiety disorder experience anxiety excessively or persistently during approximately 6 months, or even during shorter time-periods in children.[7] Anxiety disorders are among the most persistent mental problems and often last decades.[11] Anxiety can also be experienced within other mental disorders (e.g., obsessive–compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder).[12][1
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David Barlow defines anxiety as "a future-oriented mood state in which one is not ready or prepared to attempt to cope with upcoming negative events,"[17] and that it is a distinction between future and present dangers which divides anxiety and fear. Another description of anxiety is agony, dread, terror, or even apprehension.[18] In positive psychology, anxiety is described as the mental state that results from a difficult challenge for which the subject has insufficient coping skills.[3][19]
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Anxiety can be experienced with long, drawn-out daily symptoms that reduce quality of life, known as chronic (or generalized) anxiety, or it can be experienced in short spurts with sporadic, stressful panic attacks, known as acute anxiety.[23] Symptoms of anxiety can range in number, intensity, and frequency, depending on the person. However, most people do not suffer from chronic anxiety.[24]
Anxiety can induce several psychological pains (e.g., depression) or mental disorders, and may lead to self-harm or suicide.[25][26]
The behavioral effects of anxiety may include withdrawal from situations which have provoked anxiety or negative feelings in the past.[8] Other effects may include changes in sleeping patterns, changes in habits, increase or decrease in food intake, and increased motor tension (such as foot tapping).[8]
The emotional effects of anxiety may include feelings of apprehension or dread, trouble concentrating, feeling tense or jumpy, anticipating the worst, irritability, restlessness, watching for signs of danger, and a feeling of empty mindedness.[27] It may also include feeling of helplessness.[28]
If you recall in one of my recent devotionals I talked about being a perfectionist through much of my life (I love being in control) and also being a “worst-caser” or awfulizer, someone who thinks that the worst outcome is naturally going to happen. I probably have an anxiety disorder, but am a stubborn mule about treating it (I just live with it and now rely on prayer). Here are some of things I’ve obsessed over in my life; many happened before returning to faith or are from my school or working days, but there are some in my faith journey, too. This is a “confessional” of sorts and readers can create their own lists, unless you are as peaceful as Paul (good for you):
School test and report anxieties (I love those feelings - I still have dreams about not finishing a class or completing a report and I got my highest degree in 1983). I also have unfinished work report anxieties and I retired almost eight years ago.
Performance anxieties - I always loved speaking to a group but my perfectionism makes me my own worst critic. I received great performance reviews in my work life, but I always focused on the one or two negative items (those were often about my perfectionism, ironically).
Family anxieties - I used to worry a lot about the phone call in the middle of the night signaling a major health crisis with one of our family members. I also worry about the fact that I rely on Steve for so many things because of some health issues.
End of the world anxieties - this results in sweating and waking up at night thinking about a full-scale nuclear war or an EMP attack (electromagnetic pulse) destroying our electric grid or some other disaster. Now why would a Christian worry about this? His return also ends the world as we know it! We’re supposed to be eager about His return and those things would not change our destiny on the new Earth.
Health anxieties - I’m going through one right now after having laser surgery recently for a small retina tear in my left eye. That surgery was bad enough but I can break out in a cold sweat if I even think about having to recover from a retinal detachment and spend several days or longer facing downwards all day (check this out: Recovery). I worry about blood test results and other screening tests. I also worry about flare-ups of my chronic ailments, especially Rheumatoid Arthritis; worrying about it probably exacerbates the condition! I worry about not taking good care of myself. Death doesn’t actually make me anxious; it’s the journey to get there that causes worry.
Salvation anxieties - I sometimes fear that I’m not saved or fear that in my wilderness days I somehow blasphemed the Holy Spirit. If the reformed path is correct, I feel anxious that I may not be one of the elect.
Sanctification anxieties - I stress over how much I’m doing to fulfill God’s will in me. I also worry about the promise that believers will suffer. And, excessive worry is a sin, so why can’t I put it behind me?
Money anxieties - This used to take up more of my mental space, but I have actually and successfully let this one go, for the most part!
Travel anxieties - I love to travel, but yet I don’t love to travel. I am a bad passenger (perfectionism and that loss of control) and also worry about having enough stamina to keep up with a group. I worry about being stranded somewhere or experiencing a worst-case disaster scenario.
I worry about worry - Why am I so worried? Interestingly, I have mostly stopped worrying about politics in recent years. That is certainly not a place to focus on relentlessly, because no one will ever be satisfied. I’m still interested in the political scene, I just don’t worry much about outcomes.
Wow - that is a confessional! I can only guess that anxiety is increasing for most people with things like social media, where so many keyboard warriors have the opportunity all day long to react in fear and anxiety to someone else’s opinion and outright lies. They don’t call it “doom scrolling” for nothing.
So let’s dig into more in this two-verse masterpiece in Philippians. What does the Bible say about anxiety? Well, this excerpt from Gotquestions is good:
Not all anxiety is sinful. In 1 Corinthians 7:32, Paul states that an unmarried man is “anxious” about pleasing the Lord, while a married man is “anxious” about pleasing his wife (ESV). In this case, the anxiety isn’t a sinful fear but a deep, proper concern.
Probably the best-known passage on anxiety comes from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6. Our Lord warns us against being anxious about the various cares of this life. For the child of God, even necessities like food and clothing are nothing to worry about. Using examples from God’s creation, Jesus teaches that our Heavenly Father knows our needs and cares about them. If God takes care of simple things like grass, flowers, and birds, won’t He also care for people who are created in His image? Rather than worry over things we cannot control, we should "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things [the necessities of life] will be added to you" (verse 33). Putting God first is a cure for anxiety.
Many times, anxiety or concern is a result of sin, and the cure is to deal with the sin. Psalm 32:1-5 says that the person whose sin is forgiven is blessed, and the heavy weight of guilt is taken away when sins are confessed. Is a broken relationship creating anxiety? Try to make peace (2 Corinthians 13:11). Is fear of the unknown leading to anxiety? Turn the situation over to the God who knows everything and is in control of it all (Psalm 68:20). Are overwhelming circumstances causing anxiety? Have faith in God. When the disciples became distressed in a storm, Jesus first rebuked their lack of faith, then rebuked the wind and the waves (Matthew 8:23-27). As long as we are with Jesus, there is nothing to fear.
Ray Pritchard also says this about worry, as quoted in Precept Austin:
Worry is excessive concern over the affairs of life. The key obviously is the word "excessive." Worry happens when you are so concerned about the problems of life that you can think of nothing else. It is an all-consuming feeling of uncertainty and fear. And it is a sin. Worry is a sin for two reasons: First, because it displaces God in your life. When you commit the sin of worry, you are living as though God did not exist. And you are living as though you alone can solve your problems. Second, because it distracts you from the things that really matter in life. As long as you are worrying, you can't do anything else. You are strangled by worry.
But how can we tell when the legitimate concerns of life have become sinful worries? Here are three practical guidelines. You are probably well into worry...
1. When the thing you are concerned about is the first thing you think about in the morning and the last thing you think about at night.
2. When you find yourself thinking about it during every spare moment.
3. When you find yourself bringing it up in every conversation you have.
Seen in that light, most of us worry a lot more than we would like to admit! (Matthew 6:25-34 Three Things Not To Worry About )
So good and so true! The perfectionist thinks they can solve their own problems, so the sin of worry becomes a constant companion. By the way, at the link for Precept Austin, you can read one wonderful commentary and thought after another about anxiety and worry (way too many examples to bring over here).
So Paul’s solution to anxiety is to bring everything to God in prayer. Everything!! Bring these requests to Him with supplication and thanksgiving! No request is too small for our Lord. If it is on your mind, it is in His purview and His mercy and grace. Always start with gratitude, because that can make the requests seem even smaller. This powerful commentary from Precept Austin about prayer (which brought tears to my eyes) also coincides with another interest of mine - WWII (the source was not identified):
Charles Wilson, who was the president of General Electric, once recalled being in Union Station in Washington, D.C., on the morning of June 6, 1944. Thousands of people were coming and going, crisscrossing the great hall, headed to their respective trains. For weeks, there had been rumors of D-Day, a moment when Allied Forces would invade Western Europe to begin turning the tide of World War II. On this morning, something incredible happened. No announcement was made from the loudspeakers, and there were no radios or newsboys shouting the message. But suddenly everyone just stopped. Conversations ceased. The news passed from person to person that the invasion had begun. American boys were storming the beaches in Normandy. Wilson later described the beam of sunlight that pierced room like a cathedral. A woman dropped to her knees and folded her hands; near her a man knelt down. “Then another, then another, until all around me people knelt in prayer before the hard wooden benches of Union Station.” A hush filled that cavernous station as multitudes spontaneously fell to their knees in prayer. Then slowly the woman rose to her feet. The man beside her rose, too, and within seconds Union Station was alive with motion and sound again. “But for those of us who witnessed the hush,” wrote Charles Wilson, “Union Station will always have a special meaning: we were there on the day the railroad station in Washington, D.C. became a house of worship.”
But that’s not all. That night, President Franklin Roosevelt went on the radio to address the nation, and he gave what I consider the most moving speech in American history. Earlier this year, I visited the Roosevelt home and library in Hyde Park, New York, and I saw the original copy of this speech on display. It was typed out, but Roosevelt had been editing it with a pen until the moment of the broadcast. I don’t have time to read the entire thing, but it was a prayer. The whole speech was in the form of a prayer. Although I’ve read it many times and heard the recording of it over and over, I still get choked up when I read or hear it.
My Fellow Americans, Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our Allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far. And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer: Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity. Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith. They will need Thy blessings….
After praying for the men in the Armed Forces, he went on:
And for us at home—fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas, whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them— help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice. And he ended with the words of our Lord Jesus: Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen.
Would that we had a president, a statesman, a leader in our nation who would have the courage and conviction in these days to lead us in prayer; but such leaders have left the stage, and it remains uncertain if any more will arise. But we can arise. From time to time, each of us faces our own individual D-Day. We have burdens that arise against us, an enemy who comes against us, storm winds that blow against us. But we’ll never have a burden that we cannot take to the Lord and leave it there. We can always come boldly to the throne of grace, and find grace to help in time of need (see Hebrews 4:16).
One more illustration from Precept Austin:
When Franklin Graham, the oldest son of Billy and Ruth Graham, was living a wild and dangerous life, Ruth found herself torn apart by worry. One night while she was abroad, she suddenly awoke in the middle of the night worrying about Franklin. A current of worry surged through her like an electric shock. She lay in bed and tried to pray, but she suffered from galloping anxiety, one fear piling upon another. She looked at the clock and it was around three o’clock. She was exhausted, yet she knew she would be unable to go back to sleep. Suddenly the Lord seemed to say to her, "Quit studying the problems and start studying the promises."
She turned on the light, got out her Bible, and the first verses that came to her were these, Philippians 4:6-7. As she read those words, she suddenly realized that the missing ingredient in her prayers had been thanksgiving. "...in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
She put down her Bible and spent time worshipping God for who and what he is. She later wrote, "I began to thank God for giving me this one I loved so dearly in the first place. I even thanked him for the difficult spots which had taught me so much. And you know what happened? It was as if someone turned on the light in my mind and heart, and the little fears and worries that had been nibbling away in the darkness like mice and cockroaches hurriedly scuttled for cover. That was when I learned that worship and worry cannot live in the same heart. They are mutually exclusive."
I think Franklin Graham turned out just fine.
I knew this would be a long devotional. Verse 6 is repeated below so you don’t have to scroll up to the top:
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Let’s do a word study on comprehension:
Comprehension comes from the Greek noun νοῦς or noûs (Strong’s G3463) with the following Biblical usages:
the mind, comprising alike the faculties of perceiving and understanding and those of feeling, judging, determining
the intellectual faculty, the understanding
reason in the narrower sense, as the capacity for spiritual truth, the higher powers of the soul, the faculty of perceiving divine things, of recognising goodness and of hating evil
the power of considering and judging soberly, calmly and impartially
a particular mode of thinking and judging, i.e thoughts, feelings, purposes, desires
God’s peace is above our ability to understand and comprehend! It is His peace. It guards our hearts and minds. I like this commentary from Enduring Word:
And the peace of God: The Bible describes three great aspects of peace that relate to God.
· Peace from God: Paul continually used this as an introduction to his letters; it reminds us that our peace comes to us as a gift from God.
· Peace with God: This describes a relationship that we enter into with God through the finished work of Jesus Christ.
· The peace of God: This is the peace spoken of in Philippians 4:7. It is beyond “all mind”; that is, beyond our power of thinking.
“What is God’s peace? The unruffled serenity of the infinitely-happy God, the eternal composure of the absolutely well-contented God.” (Charles Spurgeon)
Which surpasses all understanding: It isn’t that it is senseless and therefore impossible to understand, but that it is beyond our ability to understand and to explain – therefore it must be experienced.
This peace doesn’t just surpass the understanding of the worldly man; it surpasses all understanding. Even the godly man can not comprehend this peace.
Guard your hearts and minds: The word guard speaks of a military action. This is something that the peace of God does for us; it is a peace that is on guard over our heart and mind.
“Shall keep them as in a strong place or a castle.” (Adam Clarke)
When people seem to “lose” their heart or mind, it often is connected to an absence of the peace of God in their life. The peace of God then does not act as a guard for their hearts and minds.
Looking back on my faith journey, I have experienced this peace and you truly cannot describe it. It’s like a force field or shields surrounding the believer, giving them a glimpse of the incredible and eternal joy and power of the Creator of the Universe and our Savior Christ Jesus. Sadly, the world and the enemy often intervene and suppress this force field (I knew I had to do a Star Trek reference somewhere). The only solution is to pray unceasingly!
My next devotional examines Philippians 4:8-9, another set of marked verses in my Bible about the things we should think about.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Please help me to bring all of my anxieties to You in grateful prayer, requesting that You surround me with the peace that cannot be comprehended. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 7/31/2025 to review the lexicon for anxiety, comprehension.
Gotquestions.org was accessed on 7/31/2025 to answer the question, What does the Bible say about Anxiety?
Precept Austin was accessed on 7/31/2025 to review commentary for Philippians 4:6-7.
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission. Minor formatting changes have been made to improve readability.
Thank you, Barb well written
There are so many good pieces and what you brought I really liked the Three statements to determine the anxiety
By the way, if it’s private, you don’t need to answer, but I’m curious how your Friday appointment went. At least I think you had a Friday appointment.