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You're sitting at the kitchen table while your child is coloring. She's talking to you. You're nodding your head. But where is your mind? Your mind is somewhere else entirely because you're worried. So, what does God say to do with all that worry? Welcome to God Says So, the scripture-rooted podcast created to help Christian moms just like you grow in God's Word, strengthen your faith, live by what God says, and pass his truth onto the children you love. So the next generation grows up rooted in Scripture. Hi, I'm Donna, and I hope that you'll feel right at home here. Together, we'll find encouragement and joy in what God says. You'll leave with one practical way to bring his truth into your everyday family life. So come join me. I can't wait to share today's message with you. Hi, friend, I'm so glad you're here. We are continuing our series, The Fruit of the Spirit in Everyday Family Life. And today we're talking about peace. And as we do in every episode, we are going to take one scripture passage, one prayer, and one practical step to help you live by what God says in your everyday life. Okay, so actually, I want to pick up almost where we were, where we left off in our last episode. So last time we read Philippians 4 4. Rejoice in the Lord always. And remember, Paul wrote those words while he was imprisoned. And just a couple of verses later, Paul says this in Philippians 4 6 through 7. 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. I love those verses, especially the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. Because sometimes peace doesn't make sense when you're going through something challenging. Yet you can have peace even when your circumstances haven't changed. The problem is still there. You still don't know how everything is going to work out. And yet, somehow, right in the middle of it, God gives you peace. So I want us to look for a minute at what Paul tells us right before he talks about that peace. He says, But in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. So first notice those words. In everything, not just the big things, not just the things that have become a crisis, but everything. You know that thing that keeps running through your mind? Bring it to God. The financial concerns, bring it to God. That situation with someone you love that you just cannot fix, bring it to him. That decision you don't have an answer for yet, bring it to him. Then Paul says, by prayer and supplication. Prayer is us coming before God and talking with him. And supplication is bringing our needs and specific requests to God. So we don't have to just say, Lord, help me. Now we can tell, so what we can do is we can tell him exactly what is troubling us. Lord, I don't know how we're going to handle this financially. Lord, I'm concerned about my mom. Lord, I don't know what decision to make. Lord, I'm afraid of what might happen. No, God already knows. But he invites us to bring those requests to him. And then Paul adds, with thanksgiving, and I think this part is so important. It doesn't mean we're thankful for the painful things that are happening or have happened. And it doesn't mean that we pretend that everything is okay when it isn't. No, no, no. We pray, Lord, I don't know how this is going to turn out, but thank you. I'm so grateful you are with me. Thank you. And I don't, thank you. You're asking, you're saying to Lord, thank you. I don't have to walk through this without you. So Paul isn't just telling us, stop worrying. He is telling us what to do with the worry. Bring it to God. Tell him what you need. And while you're praying, remember who he is and how faithful he has been. And then comes verse 7. And the peace of God with which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Okay, so now let's go back to that kitchen table scene. Your child is coloring beside you, telling you a very important story about her picture. And then she looks up and says, Mommy, look. And you realize you have absolutely no idea what she has been telling you, right? So you're you were sitting right there. You nodded as if you were listening. But inside your head, you've been somewhere else completely different, thinking about all the what-ifs. And this can be one of those moments when the Holy Spirit makes you aware of what your thoughts, where they've gone, right? Now, definitely not to ever make you feel guilty, but to remind you, you don't have to carry this by yourself. So God told you, right, to bring it to him. So maybe right there at the kitchen table, without your child even knowing, you know, what's happening, you're quietly praying in your mind, Lord, I'm bringing this to you. Please fill me with your peace, a peace that surpasses all understanding. Thank you, thank you, thank you. In Jesus' mighty name, amen. And okay, and then your child holds up her picture and says, Mommy, look. And this time you look, you listen, you're there. Not because the problem disappeared, it didn't, but because you've taken what you're carrying to the Lord, and you and you are choosing to trust him with it. And this is where the peace Paul is talking about becomes so real. Because he says the peace of God will guard your heart and your mind through Christ Jesus. Your circumstances may not be peaceful, your life may not feel particularly peaceful, but God can give you peace right in the middle of it. And I'd like to share a very personal moment that I'm going through right now. This is happening right here, right now. I am walking through grief in my own life. My dad recently passed away and I am grieving him. But at the same time, I have experienced a peace that I really cannot explain apart from God. The circumstances are still sad, the loss is still very real. But God has been incredibly faithful to give me peace as I've been walking through it. And I give Him all the glory for that. That's why I love the way Scripture describes it. Peace that surpasses all understanding. Sometimes our circumstances say you shouldn't feel peaceful right now. And yet somehow you do. Not because you're strong enough, not because you figured everything out, but because God is faithful. And your child has no idea what you're carrying. They don't need to know every adult concerned. But they experience the fruit of what God is doing in you. They experience a mom who can sit at that table, right? A mom who can listen, a mom who can color with her child, a mom who can laugh, a mom who can be present, not because she has no problems, but because she knows where to take them. And little by little, even without knowing the whole story, your child is seeing what trusting God looks like. Okay, here's your one practical step for today. If there is something that you're caring today that keeps pulling your thoughts into worry, don't just tell yourself to stop worrying. Turn the worry into a prayer. Tell God exactly what you're concerned about. You don't have to make it sound like perfect. You just talk to him. You say, Lord, this is what I'm worried about. Or Lord, this is what I don't know how to fix. Or, Lord, this is what I'm afraid might happen. And then thank him for something you know to be true. Thank you that you're with me. Thank you that you hear me. Thank you that I can trust you with this. And then ask him to help you do exactly that. Trust him with it. Because God's word doesn't tell us that we have to figure everything out before we can have peace. It tells us to bring our requests to him. And he gives us a peace that surpasses all understanding. Okay, so real quick before we pray, if you want a simple way to begin bringing more of God's word into your everyday family life, I have a free guide for you called Seven Scriptures to Pray Over the Children You Love. You can download that using the link in the show notes below. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you, God, that I do not have to carry every worry and every concern on my own. You already know what's on my heart. Help me bring it all to you. When my thoughts begin running ahead into fear and worry, Holy Spirit, remind me to turn back to you. Thank you for the peace you give, the peace that surpasses all understanding. Guard my heart and my mind through Christ Jesus and help me live in a way that shows my child what it looks like to trust you even when life feels uncertain. In Jesus' mighty name, amen. Okay, come back on Thursday as we continue our Fruit of the Spirit series and we move on to patience. And if you haven't already, please follow the God Says So podcast so you never miss an episode. Oh, wait, one more thing. If the Holy Spirit puts someone on your heart while you were listening to this episode, would you please share this podcast with them? And together, we can reach more families, all for God's glory. Until next time, stay rooted in Scripture. Live by what God says, and pass it on.