The “screensaver” on my computer is a daily reminder of one of the most important thoughts I’ve ever had. When my laptop has been inactive for a few minutes, the screen goes black. Then large red words begin scrolling across the display saying,  “The only way to peace of mind is to see each day as an opportunity to trust God and love people.”

For me, the thought has been more than a screensaver. More than a few times, the reminder to see every circumstance as an opportunity for what matters has softened my anxiety and cooled my anger.

I’m also convinced that even though my screensaver is not a direct quote of Scripture, it reflects the heart of Paul’s jailhouse letter to the Philippians. Penned in the discomforts of a lock-up, while former friends accused him of being a threat to society, Paul laid the foundation for the thought that keeps changing my mind and my life. He called it “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).

Where can we find this peace?

What we do know about this peace is that it does not insulate us from concern or loss. Neither will it spare us the internal struggle of emotions rooted in the fragile chemistry of our own bodies.

The peace Paul described is a deep, stabilizing peace of faith that comes as a gift from the Spirit of God. It is calmness of soul that enables us to be sure of the goodness and presence of God even when emotions are whispering and screaming like demons. As an assurance of priceless value, this peace is more of a “knowing” than a “feeling.”

It is at this point that we need to be careful. Although the peace of God is a gift of His Spirit, there are some choices we need to make at three levels of our life.

First level—On the surface, real issues threaten our peace of mind. Because our natural inclination is to let these surface issues rob us of our peace of mind, Paul gave us two lines of defense. First, he encouraged us to bring all of our concerns and requests to God in order to experience a peace that goes beyond our ability to understand (4:6-7).

Second, he urged us to refocus our thoughts by thinking about what is true, and good, and honorable. He immediately went on to say in the next verse that if we follow his example the God of peace will be with us (4:8-9).

Until recently I misunderstood the second of these two strategies. I assumed that when he urged us to think about what is true and honest and good (4:8) he was saying in effect: If you want peace of mind, think good thoughts. Be positive. Be optimistic. Don’t think the worst. Think the best about people and life.

Looking back, I should have known better. Avoidance was not Paul’s style. When he focused his own mind on what is true, and pure, and praiseworthy, he faced his own failures. He went to the rescue of others. He cared to the point of tears. He was realistic about human evil. He understood the strategies of demons. 

Even in his letter to the Philippians, Paul openly faced disappointments, conflicts, and facts that made him cry (3:18). Understanding what Paul meant by “honorable thinking” helps us to see that he was advocating a peace that can be experienced with God in the middle of our problems rather than apart from them.

Second level—Below the surface, unseen motives shape our responses. All of us live with subsurface obstacles to peace. Everything we do is with an unseen motive that in many cases we’d rather not think about. In everything we get involved with, we have a self-centered personal interest that can rob us of our peace of mind and make us seem dangerous to those around us.

It is because of these natural inclinations that Paul urged us to let God override our natural inclinations with the spirit of His love. Paul knew that without heartfelt concern for others, there can be no lasting peace.

What I failed to see for a long time, however, is that it doesn’t do any good to say something like, “For your own peace of mind, and for goodness’ sake, start loving and caring for one another.” Moral emphasis is not the solution. God doesn’t ask us to have right motives because it is the right thing to do. He asks us to love one another on the basis of  “underlying foundational issues.”

Third level—At a still deeper level, foundational beliefs shape our motives. Just as there is at least one unseen motive behind every action, so every motive rests on an underlying foundation of belief or misbelief.

Our natural tendency is to believe our eyes or our desires. We are most inclined to assess our well-being by counting our natural resources. We are quick to count our money and our friends, or to check our blood pressure and cholesterol to form a belief about how we are doing.

From his prison cell, however, Paul gave us a different example. He urged us to believe that the Lord is present (4:5), that God Himself can give us a peace we can’t understand (4:7), and that our Provider God can be our source of well-being in all the circumstances of life (4:13,19). Even in his repeated appeals for good and honorable motives (2:3-4), Paul made it clear that an honest concern for others must emerge from our own belief that our God is attentively looking after our every need.

This confidence in God was the secret of Paul’s peace of mind (4:11-13). This foundational reliance upon his Provider is what allowed him to say to others of like faith, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me . . . . And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (4:13,19).

Father in heaven, in so many ways we have looked for contentment in all of the wrong places. We have counted our well-being in terms of our strengths rather than in the weaknesses that have brought us back to You. Help us to rely on You, Lord. Please give us a peace that we can know even when we don’t feel it. —Mart De Haan