A number of years ago a man sought the perfect picture of peace. Not finding one that satisfied, he announced a contest to produce this masterpiece. The challenge stirred the imagination of artists everywhere, and paintings arrived from far and wide. Finally, the great day of revelation arrived.
The judges uncovered one peaceful scene after another, while the viewers clapped and cheered. The tensions grew. Only two pictures remained veiled. As a judge pulled the cover from one, a hush fell over the crowd. A mirror-smooth lake reflected lacy, green birches under the soft blush of the evening sky. Along the grassy shore, a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed. Surely this was the winner. The man with the vision uncovered the second painting himself, and the crowd gasped in surprise. Could this be peace?
A tumultuous waterfall cascaded down a rocky precipice; the crowd could almost feel it’s cold, penetrating spray. Stormy-gray clouds threatened to explode with lightning, wind and rain. In the midst of the thundering noises and bitter chill, a spindly tree clung to the rocks at the edge of the falls. One of its branches reached out in front of the torrential waters as if foolishly seeking to experience its full power.
A little bird had built a nest in the elbow of that branch. Content and undisturbed in her stormy surroundings, she rested on her eggs. With her eyes closed and her wings ready to cover her little ones, she manifested peace that transcends all earthly turmoil.
This picture perfectly illustrates the peace we need in times of panic. Like the waterfall, many of us already live with thunderous noise, rushing activity, and constant chaos crashing all around us. And now a new threat has emerged from the shadows: the Coronavirus pandemic. A few weeks ago, when the virus was mostly in China, we were unaffected and unafraid. But over the past few days, our nation has experienced a full-blown panic attack. With schools closing, sports canceling, grocery stores emptying, businesses shuddering, the stock market spinning, and politicians spouting, this jolt of increased anxiety is causing people to act irrationally. For instance, how many of you have stockpiled toilet paper?
During times of panic, we must remember that God offers us his peace. As the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of the world, he is in control of everything! Peace is not the absence of adversity. Peace is contentment in the midst of trouble, just like that little bird quietly nesting under the turbulent waterfall. The Apostle Paul reminds us of this great truth in Philippians 4:2-9. Paul gives us 5 ways we can access God’s perfect peace in panicked times.
1.) Unity Brings Peace in Panicked Times (2-3)
The Philippian church was plagued by disunity. So, Paul begins this section of his letter by addressing the problem. Two women in the church, Euodia and Syntyche, were involved in some kind of quarrel. Since both women were influential, their personal conflict had the potential to divide the whole church. To protect the church, Paul urges them to agree with one another in the Lord. The fact that he repeats the verb “plead” shows the severity of the situation.
Paul solicited a specific member of the congregation to act as a moderator for the two women. He entreats this “true companion” to help them resolve their differences so they could return to their faithful service to the Lord. After all, they had worked alongside Paul, Clement, and the rest of the church, they have suffered persecution for the gospel together, and both their names are written in the Book of Life. Both of these women loved the Lord and the church, and it would be a shame if their differences continued to divide them.
Panicked times seem to divide people. Just this week, in light of the Coronavirus, I have heard people say things like, “I can’t believe they decided to close the schools and canceling events. People are overreacting!” I’ve heard other people say, “I can’t believe they are keeping the schools open. They aren’t taking the virus seriously!” Some have praised our government’s response while others have criticized it.
Division and disunity cause even more anxiety during panicked times. Unity brings peace! We want to be people who contribute to the solution—not the problem. This requires listening, understanding, and patience. It may even mean giving up our personal desires and preferences for the benefit of the community!
A New York family bought a ranch out West where they intended to raise cattle. Friends visited and asked if the ranch had a name. “Well,” said the would-be cattleman, “I wanted to name it the Bar-J. My wife favored Suzy-Q, one son liked the Flying-W, and the other wanted the Lazy-Y. So, we’re calling it the Bar-J-Suzy-Q-Flying-W-Lazy-Y.” “But where are all your cattle?” the friends asked. “None survived the branding.”
Division breeds dysfunction but unity brings peace in panicked times. During these anxious days, let us stand unified with each other. May God’s peace prevail through personal sacrifice for our brothers and sisters.
2.) Rejoicing Brings Peace in Panicked Times (4)
Just as unity brings peace in panicked times, so does rejoicing. In verse 4, Paul gives the double command to rejoice. In spite of anxiety and adversity, Paul calls on Christians to be joyful. Such joy resides not in circumstances or even a positive attitude toward life. Joy reigns in the heart only when Christ is Lord of life. Joy is always in the Lord.
In panicked times, we often get tunnel vision—we become so fixated on our fears and frustrations that we don’t notice all of the other wonderful things happening all around us. Our natural instinct is to either complain or feel sorry for ourselves, but instead, God calls us to rejoice.
Sure, the Coronavirus has caused inconveniences, but has it given you any reasons to rejoice? Perhaps it will cause us to appreciate our health more! Maybe it will cause our fast-paced society to slow down a little! Maybe it will give families more time together! Maybe it will improve our prayer lives! Maybe it will help people recognize their need for a Savior and turn to our Lord Jesus Christ! Rejoicing, even in our pain and suffering, brings peace in panicked times!
3.) Gentleness Brings Peace in Panicked Times. (5)
In addition to unity and rejoicing, gentleness brings peace in panicked times. In verse 5, Paul tells the Christians in Philippi to let their gentleness be evident to all. This means Christians are to treat everyone with kindness, respect, and generosity; even those who persecute. It involves sacrificing personal rights and privileges and resisting retaliation.
Jesus Christ is the perfect example of this. He easily could have appealed to his rights as the divine Son of God and retaliated against his oppressors. He could have destroyed those who mocked him and made fun of him. He could have annihilated those who falsely accused him and plotted against his back. He could have shattered those who nailed his hands and feet to the cross. But he didn’t do any of these things. He didn’t invoke his rights; he didn’t resist or retaliate; but he let his gentleness be evident to all by willingly enduring the persecution of his oppressors and suffering the pain of the cross.
Over the past few days, I’ve heard reports about people hoarding goods from grocery stores and getting into fights at department stores. Anxiety is not a good excuse to treat people poorly. Now is the time for us to facilitate peace through gentleness, not aggressive attitudes and behaviors. Gentleness brings peace in panicked times.
4.) Prayer Brings Peace in Panicked Times. (6-7)
In verse 6, Paul gives a negative exhortation against worrying. Anxiety and worrying come from focusing on difficult circumstances and troubled times. Paul and the Philippians had plenty of reasons for anxiety since he was in prison and the others were facing numerous persecutions. He is not speaking conditionally; he knew his readers were enduring tremendous hardships. He doesn’t make light of the troubles they face, but he knows that God is greater than all of their troubles. Therefore, harboring anxiety and worry is a waste of time and is counter-productive.
So then, what is the alternative to worrying? How does one gain peace in panicked times? Paul’s answer is prayer. Believing that God is greater than the greatest problem, Paul emphatically urges the Philippians to find release from anxiety in prayer and more prayer. He uses three synonyms strung together in a row: “prayer”, “petition”, and “requests” to drive home the importance of prayer for gaining peace in panicked times. (Hawthorne 183)
And as a result, the peace of God will be made known to those who earnestly pray. God’s peace reflects his divine character, which lives in perfect serenity and tranquility, totally separate from all anxiety and worry. When Christians pray and give their problems to God, God’s supernatural peace which transcends all human understanding and explanation will guard their hearts and minds. The heart and mind are at the center of a person’s soul. It is the source of all emotion and thought. As a large garrison of soldiers stands guard over a city to protect it from attack, when Christians pray, God’s peace protects their emotions and thoughts from anxiety and worry, even amidst troubled times.
Here’s some excellent (500 year old) advice from Martin Luther when facing the Black Plague, which was a little worse than the Coronavirus:
I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance inflict and pollute others and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me however I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely as stated above. See this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.
Are you feeling anxious? If you are a person who is prone to worry, I encourage you to stop being a worrier and start being a warrior; that is, a prayer warrior! As we constantly hand our fears and worries over to God through prayer, may his peace guard our minds and emotions!
5.) Devotion to Moral Excellence Brings Peace in Panicked Times (8-9)
And finally, Paul concludes this section on peace in panicked times with an admonition toward devotion to moral excellence. Moral excellence is comprised of godly thinking and holy living. In verse 8, Paul exhorts the Philippians toward godly thinking by listing 8 virtues. He wanted the Philippians to be devoted to moral excellence in their thought lives.
In addition to godly thinking, moral excellence is exercised in holy living or righteous conduct. In verse 9, Paul tells them to put into practice what they have learned from him. And the primary lesson they learned from Paul’s teaching and action was to put Jesus Christ first: to let Christ be the motivation for everything they do. And by being devoted to moral excellence in thought and action, the God of peace will be with us.
When we devote ourselves to moral excellence in thought and action; that is, God will be with us and grant us his peace!
Back in 1948, the world was terrified by the threat of the atomic bomb. Listen to how the British author C.S. Lewis addressed the great fear of his day:
In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. “How are we to live in an atomic age?” I am tempted to reply: “Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.”
In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented: and quite a high percentage of us were going to die in unpleasant ways…
This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies but they need not dominate our minds.
As we all sit here in church together this morning, we are, indeed, in the midst of a national panic attack. Everyone is reacting and responding to the Coronavirus pandemic differently. No one knows how long it will last or how bad it will get, but I can guarantee that panicking will not make it better. Instead, let us heed Paul’s words by seeking God’s peace through unity, rejoicing, gentleness, prayer, and devotion to moral excellence!