The Peace That Passes

The Peace That Passes

A man named David sat in a hospital waiting room as his wife underwent emergency surgery. The natural expectation would be terror. He described something unexpected: 'I was calm in a way that made no sense to me. Not resigned — I was praying desperately. But a peace was present that I didn't generate. My friends who came to support me were more visibly anxious than I was.' His wife survived. He never forgot that peace. 'I understood for the first time that the peace that passes understanding is exactly what it says: it passes my understanding. I could not have explained it. I couldn't have produced it. It was given.'

Philippians 4:7 describes a peace that 'transcends all understanding' — the Greek hyperecho means surpasses, is above, goes beyond. This peace cannot be explained by circumstances because it exceeds what circumstances can generate. It is not the peace of resolved problems; it is the peace available in unresolved problems. The peace 'guards' — the Greek froureo is a military term for a garrison that stands watch — hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The two most vulnerable targets in anxiety — our emotional hearts and our thinking minds — are guarded by a peace we cannot produce ourselves. The condition for receiving this peace is the prayerful, grateful surrender described in verse 6. When everything else is turbulent, this peace stands guard.