Many of you will be thinking that this title could apply to almost anything I post online. But I want to offer it as a different way of looking at things.

There’s a passage in the Bible that says:

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

These are some of the final words in Paul’s letter the the new Christians in Philippi. They follow the instruction to pray in all circumstances. It’s important not to lose sight of that fact so we’ll turn over the corner of the page here to remind us.

So… back to the passage. What does ‘transcends all human understanding’ mean? For a long time I have thought of it in terms of cognitive ability. In other words the peace is so profound and complex that human beings will never comprehend it.

A second way if looking at it would be to say that the peace is above or beyond human investigations because it’s of God.

But reflecting on my recent experiences has led me to another way of looking at the passage. What if it means, in effect, ‘peace that makes no sense in the circumstances’? Before the internet heresy hunters start lobbing virtual rocks in my direction let me try to explain.

Before, during and after all of my surgical and medical experiences I had an all-pervading sense of peace about everything. Even when I was told that my heart had to be restarted with a shock I felt great peace. The source of the peace was an absolute confidence that God was in control. Whatever happened hecwas with me. I don’t think it’s insignificant either that many people were praying for me.

But in some if the circumstances I experienced the natural human experience would be anxiety, alarm, stress, or upset. It made no sense at all in the circumstances to feel the peace that I did.

It’s important to remember where I turned over the page earlier. Remember I was talking about the context for this passage being in the context of praying in all circumstances? It’s not a scientific formula that adds up the number and variety of prayers to produce the peace.

Prayer is a fundamental part of our relationship with God. The more we involve him in many different aspects of our lives the closer we’ll be to him, the more confident we’ll be in him and the easier it is for us to experience the peace that makes no sense in the circumstances when we experience tough times.

That’s been my experience anyway.

Be blessed, be a blessing