Online Bible Study: Becoming a Woman of Freedom Lesson 4 - How to be filled with Peace

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What would you say if I told you that there is truly a way for you to control how much peace you have in your life?  That it is not under the control of anyone else BUT YOU.  That no matter what you are facing right now or what you face in the future, you have the ability to not only navigate through the situation but feel a core strength developing in you that you will have no explanation for…. Other than YOU CHOSE TO do the work to invite that type of Nirvana into your life. 

“Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.  THEN you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Philipians 4:6-7

These verses are from the New Testament of a Book called the Bible.  This book contains two major parts: an old Testament and a new Testament.  These parts were written in another language and translated into English.  So if you have a Bible and the words for these verses do not match what I have just read, it may be because you are reading a different translation of the languages but the words should have the same essence.  

Another way this verse is translated is “Be anxious for nothing.”

Anxious

merimnaō

Pronunciation me-rēm-nä'-ō (Key)

μεριμνάω merimnáō, mer-im-nah'-o; to be anxious about:—(be, have) care(-ful), take thought.

This greek word used in this verse is the same word that is also translated as ‘worry’ in the following verses:

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear.  Isn’t life more than food and your body more than clothing?”

Matthew 6:25

“Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”

Matthew 6:27

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries.  Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Matthew 6:34

“And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?”

Luke 12:26

Be anxious for NOTHING

 

mēdeis

Pronunciation mā-dā's (Key)

μηδείς mēdeís, may-dice'; not even one (man, woman, thing):—any (man, thing), no (man), none, not (at all, any man, a whit), nothing, + without delay.

"Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.  THEN you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

But in everything

pas	Pronunciation pä's

 individually

1.    each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything

collectively

"...THEN you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Peace

eirēnē

Pronunciation ā-rā'-nā (Key)

 a state of national tranquillity

1.    exemption from the rage and havoc of war

peace between individuals, i.e. harmony, concord
security, safety, prosperity, felicity, (because peace and harmony make and keep things safe and prosperous)

“I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart.  And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give.   So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

John 14:27

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.  Here on Earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart because I have overcome the world”

John 16:33

"...His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Guard

phroureō

Pronunciation frü-re'-ō

Vines Expository Dictionary of the New Testament

Guard (Noun and Verb):

a military term, "to keep by guarding, to keep under guard," as with a garrison (phrouros, "a guard, or garrison"), is used,

(a) of blocking up every way of escape, as in a siege;

(b) of providing protection against the enemy, as a garrison does; see 2Cr 11:32, "guarded." AV, "kept," i.e., kept the city, "with a garrison." It is used of the security of the Christian until the end, 1Pe 1:5, RV, "are guarded," and of the sense of that security that is his when he puts all his matters into the hand of God, Phl 4:7, RV, "shall guard," In these passages the idea is not merely that of protection, but of inward garrisoning as by the Holy Spirit; in Gal 3:23 ("were kept in ward"), it means rather a benevolent custody and watchful guardianship in view of worldwide idolatry (cp. Isa 5:2).
See KEEP.

I am finishing up a 10 month stay in a place where I experienced a ton of isolation and uncertainty.  I moved here with so much expectation.  I am a pretty positive person so when I go into a situation I have a pretty high reserve tank filled with hope.  As the setbacks mounted, not being able to find a job, having no vehicle, the lack of friendship and community, the sadness of things promised that never materialized, I could feel those reserves dwindling.  I was not feeling the urge to pray more.  I couldn’t even conjure up what to pray about.  I was talking to God about all that was going on with words like ‘can you see what’s going on?”  and “what am I doing wrong?” and “can I have at least one friend?”  So these words speak deeply to me.  What do you do when you have been praying?  And you have run out of words to pray?




Sometimes I would just sit quietly and breathe.

Then I would go silent.

Then I started to take the words in the psalms and read them.  Slowly, I changed the words to “I” and “me” statements.  And I began to climb out of despair slowly.


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