Peace Before You Know

READ: PROVERBS 3:5-6; PHILIPPIANS 4:4-8; 1 PETER 5:7

Can you remember a time when you had to wait for news that really mattered? Like when the results could mean you made the cut for the team. Or that you got into your favorite college. Or they could mean another surgery. Or cancer. How do you find peace in the waiting?

That’s hard for just about everybody! You often hear people say, while awaiting their (potentially) difficult news, “I think I can handle what the news is. It’s just the waiting that is so hard!”

One time, after undergoing many of these “waiting trials,” I had another wait in front of me. Friends were asking me, “Have you heard the results yet?” They were echoing my own questioning mind…which way would this go?

Then I did something different than all the other times. I prayed a different prayer. I asked for “pre-peace.” I asked God for His peace before I knew the outcome.

I prayed, Lord, you know all those times I endure those long days of waiting, until the answer finally arrives? Then, when I know the outcome, I give it over to You, and I have peace. But Your Word says that as I rejoice in You and commit my requests to You with thanksgiving, I will have peace. Can we just fast-forward this part? My request is known to You. Will You give me this peace, now, even before I know how this turns out? I focused on His presence, goodness, and love.

And do you know what happened? His peace flooded my heart. My mind stopped whirling with all of the “what-ifs.” Just like it says in Philippians 4, His peace was beyond understanding. I still didn’t know the results. Yet I was super joyful and full of peace! His peace guarded my mind and heart. This is such a joyful way to face the waiting times. I hope you can enjoy God’s perfect peace, even before you know the answer. • Kristen Merrill

• Have you ever experienced God’s peace in a season of waiting? Even if we don’t feel Jesus’s peace all the time, He is always with us through the Holy Spirit. He loves us, and He sits with us in the anxious waiting, inviting us to bring our struggles to Him in prayer. Where do you need to experience God’s peace today?

Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (CSB)