Gospel of Peace - Week 5: Wednesday

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.

Commentary

Fr. Tadros Malaty
The peace of God is a free gift presented to the soul that puts all its hope on Him; it would not get disturbed, but at the time of anguish, it prays, supplicates, and gives thanks; and the gates of heaven would open, and the exalted peace of God would that surpasses mind would flow on it. This divine inner peace is capable of guarding the heart and mind in Jesus Christ, and of granting man a kind of harmony between the soul and the body, between the heart and mind, and between the will and the behavior. The believer would be without any inner conflicts, for the Spirit of God would grant him an exalted inner unity; so that no sin could ever crawl into his depths to spoil his peace; and the devil would not be able to approach him, being unable to endure the heavenly divine light.

Questions

• Fr. Tadros mentions that divine inner peace grants us harmony between the will and the behavior; is this truly achievable in our everyday lives? If so, how? If not, why not?

• Is it comforting to know that God grants us peace even without taking away our tribulations?