“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
These are very comforting words in the Bible: God provides peace to those who fear Him and keep His commandments, and this very peace that God provides often surpasses all human understanding. But if we look at this verse closely, the true meaning of this verse does not stop there: when a person believes in God, is baptized, and has their sins forgiven, they have gained righteousness before God, and they therefore can receive true peace. Again, this peace that God grants surpasses all understanding and is a type of peace that trials and tribulations cannot rob us of. This true peace can keep a person calm within Christ and will protect them from sorrow or grief.
In the Bible, Acts, chapter 12, it says: “Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover. Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.” (Acts 12:1-11)
When we look at this incident, we can see that the Lord made a timely rescue: When His disciple’s life was in danger in the middle of the night, He granted His disciple a peace that surpassed all understanding by commanding His angel to save His disciple. The same peace has also been experienced today in the True Church. Peter’s peace was not there after the angel saved him, nor while the angel was saving him, but rather, the abundant peace that he felt in his heart was there even before all of this happened, such that he was able to fall fast asleep between two soldiers and was still fast asleep until the angel woke him up. He did not realize it was real all that way until he came upon the streets (Acts 12:11)—He had no worries in the face of martyrdom.
The Lord has promised us a peace that surpasses all understanding (John 16:33). He said: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). At the same time, not only do we have peace within our lives, we also will have this true peace within our hearts. This peace is like a flowing river, gaining life from the righteousness of God, inseverable (Isaiah 48:17-18).