Peace of God

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 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.

I’ve always loved that scripture. It has given peace to my heart when I needed it…or perhaps reminded me that the peace of God is mine for the asking.

There were times my mind and thoughts were too literal though. I decided that my want, need or request is just too petty to take before God. Why bother Him with my petty stuff when there is so much of consequence going on? See? Too literal. Then I had a revelation. It’s not so much that I need to knock every time my anxiety switch is flipped but the assurance of His concern and care is always there, I can tap into the stockpile of knowledge of Him for all the peace I need. That was mother lode of peace in and of itself!

It’s funny to me the things that make me anxious these days. Not funny in a haha way, but you know what I mean. For instance, so many people are caught up in the goings on around the world and they are consumed with thoughts of gloom and doom. Not me, I can totally walk away from that knowing God is in control of my fate regardless of worldly craziness. My dogs’ barking, however, is a daily source of anxiety for me. Since we release the hounds around 5ish in the AM, they get an early start on protecting our hacienda from wild rabbits, feral cats and wandering canines…sadly, they believe barking is required to do so. As a writer working from my home in the country, I can tell you, there is no short supply of either wild rabbits, feral cats or wandering canines. Makes – me – crazy – every - day! There is nothing as irritating as being in the verge of writing a great literary passage (it’s ok to laugh here, I did) when the hounds start to bay at a distant siren or bark at a cottontail munching its way across the backyard. The rabbits know the dogs can’t get to them so they are not disturbed by the barking. If anything, they taunt the dogs by moving ever closer to the fence surrounding the dog run. This inspires more barking. More barking = more anxiety for me. Just so you know…there is no scripture I have found to-date that addresses barking dogs.

Therefore, scriptures like the one above come to mind and I lean on the peace I may not be feeling at the time but know is there for me. I love my God, my hounds and the unconditional love I get from both. I’m pretty sure God gave us dogs as a physical manifestation of His love we can hold in our laps and cuddle. Now THAT’s peaceful…