The God of Peace Will Be with You

Javkhaa Ganbaatar
Student Chaplain – Robertson School of Government

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Phil. 4:4-9 NIV).


About a couple of years ago, when our first baby went to be with the Lord Jesus, this particular passage from Philippians ministered to my wife and I greatly. Our hope and prayers for healing of the baby had turned into sudden preparation of a funeral service for our son. In the midst of our loss and grieving, the Lord commanded us to rejoice in Him so that our gentleness be evident to all. In the beginning, we could not understand why the Lord was telling us to rejoice during this very difficult time; however, as things unfolded, we realized why He did that. 

One of the nurses stopped by on the evening our son was born and told us, “Today everyone in this hospital has watched the two of you. They have seen your courage and peace in this difficult time. One person in particular who isn’t a Christian is walking around in a daze, wondering where in the world your strength came from. You have truly been a testimony, and I just wanted you to know.” That gave us a lot of joy, strength, and encouragement. Praise the Lord!

In this passage, there are three commands of the Lord followed by His promises. His first command in verse 4 is to REJOICE. We, as Christians, have a choice of rejoicing in the midst of tragedy or difficult situations. Then God promises that He is coming near to us.

The second command for us is NOT TO WORRY, but instead to present our requests to God. If we do that, then He promises to give us His peace that transcends all understanding. Not only that, but the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. It is very easy to listen to voices and advice that are not from God. Therefore, when we pray without worrying, we will receive the peace of God.

The third command deals with REFLECTING on Godly things and practicing them in our lives. If we do that, then the peace of God will be with us. Therefore, let us remember these three commands and promises of the Lord always, especially when we face tragedies, difficult times, and suffering. The God of peace will be with you.