“If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand” (Philippians 4:7 TLB).
Americans are more stressed than ever. A 2017 American Psychological Association “Stress in America Survey” showed that those polled were more stressed about the country’s future than at any time in the survey’s 10-year history.
And our stress is deadly. As of June 2018, suicide rates in the US are up 30 percent since 1999.
If we’ve ever needed God’s stress-free guarantee, it’s today.
The Bible shares God’s guarantee in Philippians 4:7, where it says, “If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand” (TLB).
This isn’t a stress guarantee from a doctor. It’s not a guarantee from a pharmaceutical company.
It’s so much better. It’s a guarantee from the Creator of the universe.
Wouldn’t you like to have your thoughts be quiet and your heart at rest as you trust in Jesus?
Imagine you’re in a situation where you have no logical reason to be at peace—but you are.
Sounds pretty good, right?
That’s God’s guarantee. That’s God’s promise.
There are more than 5,000 promises in the Bible, and every one of them has a premise. Every promise has a premise.
There is a premise behind God’s stress guarantee, too. The verse from Philippians 4 begins with, “If you do this.”
Over the next few devotionals, I’ll describe what God means—the things he wants us to do.
But let this sink in a bit. It is possible to “experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.”
Stress doesn’t have to win. Anxiety doesn’t need to control you.
There is hope.
Talk It Over
What are some of the biggest sources of stress in your life right now? How can you release them to God?
Have you ever experienced a time when God gave you a great sense of peace even though your circumstances were stressful?
How would your life change if you could experience God’s peace in the midst of your worst moments?
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
