In a poll taken in 2021, Gallup found that only 39% of participants from around the world often feel at peace in their lives. Peace can be hard to come by, not just person to person or country to country (because, hey, there’s a lot of money to be made in war!) but inner peace, peace with one’s self. Many religions and gurus promise to give inner peace and offer pathways and answers, but it is all self-focused. Any peace built around a human or false prophet or false god is no peace at all. In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul listed out four steps to finding peace.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

"Don’t worry about anything.” Paul’s first piece of advice, the first step to finding peace, is to not worry about anything. This is being written by a man who was shipwrecked several times, bitten by a poisonous snake, beaten nearly to death, scourged several times, imprisioned even more, and his advice is not to worry about anything. That’s easy to say, but how do we not worry about anything? That’s step two.

“Instead, pray about everything.” When worry wants to creep it’s little head into your life, remember to not worry and immediately turn to God in prayer. There is a higher power and pathway to peace: Jesus Christ—He is the Way. Do you pray about everything? Are there things you hold back from God? Things you won’t or don’t pray about? You might think they are too small or God wouldn't care about them. 1 Peter 5:7 tells us, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” Give all your worries to Him—why? Because He cares about you. He created you, after all. No one cares about you more than God. Pray about everything. There is nothing too big or small for our God.

“Tell God what you need.” Sometimes we like to take our needs on our shoulders. I’ll work and make the money and I’ll go and buy what we need. Or we reject that which we do need: we pursue a life of solitude because our ego won’t let us get a friend with whom we can be vulnerable. God already knows what you need and He is ready and willing to give it to you. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” And in Matthew 7:7, “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” Tell God what you need and He will generously and graciously provide it as He sees fit.

“Thank Him for all He has done.” Study after study, year after year, it is consistently found that gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Our God deserves more thanks than we could ever give Him, but it would not be a wasted life to try and give Him the thankfulness He deserves. If you want peace in your life start with an attitude of gratitude. Make a list of all the things God has done for you in your life. You’ll quickly see how much you need to be thankful for.

If you follow these four steps as laid out by Paul, “you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.” Know Jesus, know peace.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.