Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 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 4:4-7 NKJV
Years ago when I was very young and green in my faith and knowledge of the Lord and His Word, God gave me these verses. Even in my spiritual immaturity, I just somehow knew they were from God. At the time, I was pregnant with our son Nathan and we had just been given a VERY poor prognosis for the life of our unborn child. We were preparing for an experimental in-utero surgery, the only option we had if we wanted our baby to even have a chance to live. Even then, there was no way of knowing the quality of life he would have if he did indeed survive. That's when God gave these verses to me. I memorized them and repeated them over and over during the surgery and again and again in the days and weeks ahead.
That's when I learned the power of God's Word. My circumstances didn't change. But my response and reaction to them did. I truly did know and personally experience God's "peace that passes understanding" in the midst of some very difficult and trying days. And these were some of the first verses God brought back around for me in the midst of some very difficult and trying days we are living in right now.
So what about you? How do these verses encourage you today? Or what verses is God using to speak to you?