Cultivating the Garden | Episode 4: Peace— The Stability

What does biblical peace really look like?

In this episode, we’re exploring the Fruit of the Spirit: Peace through John 14:27 and Philippians 4:6–7. Together, we’ll discover the difference between the temporary peace the world offers and the lasting peace that only Jesus can give.

If you’ve ever struggled with worry, uncertainty, or trying to control every outcome, this episode is an invitation to lay those burdens before God and experience the peace that guards your heart and mind.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Hey girlies! Welcome back to Gospel Girlies, the Gospel Center podcast for women. I'm your host Angel, and around here we're about honest faith, real life, and choosing obedience even when the road doesn't make sense. So get ready to have your hearts filled, your souls lifted, and your faith ignited. If you're new here, welcome home girly. If you've been here, you already know the vibes. Hey girl, hey! I hope you all have had an amazing week because things over here have been pretty busy, but they've been busy in a really good way. One exciting update is that I decided to, as you guys already know, sign up for prayer champions, and I recently attended the interest meeting where they broke down both courses because there's a prayer champion level one and a prayer champion level two, and when you sign up, both of those are kind of tied together, and so they just broke down what that would look like for you and how the process would work and all the other things, and because I knew that I have been wanting to grow my prayer life, I decided to go ahead and take that leap of faith and join the courses. Now, they did ensure me that just because I complete um the courses does not automatically mean that I will have to be up front on Sundays praying for the people. Um, but it's a really good opportunity for everyone. Um, and so I'm really looking forward to seeing how God continues to grow me through that experience. Another update is that my role at church is changing a little bit. So I've been serving on the admin team, so I've been assisting the campus admin with all things church. Um, so that's helping with like the weekly newsletters, um creating SOPs, putting people into our systems, and all the things. So to help each ministry, um, each admin person was going to get a few departments to kind of assist them, stay organized, and help the workflow a little bit. Um, and so originally I was going to be admin for three different apartment departments, but I have been kidnapped, and I say that lightly, um, to support our pastor's personal ministry, and so I no longer have the three departments, I just have um my pastor's ministry, and so that means I'll be stepping into a whole new set of responsibilities, and while it's definitely stretching me, I'm excited to see what God does in this new season. On top of that, school is still moving along, y'all. I'm getting closer to the finish line, which I am so grateful for. But if I'm being real, senioritis is a very real thing right now. It's getting harder and harder some days to sit down and actually get assignments done. And I'm learning that finishing something well sometimes takes more discipline than starting ever did. And I'm definitely asking God to help me steward these last stretches well instead of just coasting to the end. And that word steward is actually leading me into something else I've been working on. When I say I've been busy, I promise y'all I've been busy. Between ministry, school, gospel girlies, and everyday life, I have a lot of plates spinning right now. And so I've been building out what I'm calling my own life operating system, and I'm not gonna give you the name because I don't want anybody to steal it, but it's it's T. That's what y'all say, yeah. It's tea. Um, and so it's basically a way to organize every area of my life so that it actually works for me instead of me constantly working to keep up with it. I'm still in the middle of building it, but this is what day four, and although day three didn't go like I planned, um, I can already tell it's going to change the way I manage my time and my priorities, and honestly, if it works the way I'm hoping it will, I'd love to eventually teach other women how to build something similar for their own lives, something that helps you steward what God's given you well, instead of feeling like you're drowning in it. So the last update, and if you've been on the social medias and keeping up with us, y'all should already know um that something has been happening over there. Um, if you haven't, this is your sign to go check them out. So, as y'all already seen, I dropped a video that said come with me as I prepare for our brand shoot um with one of my friends, and y'all, first of all, it was so fun. Um, I usually don't like taking photos or anything like that, and so this was a very interesting shoot, and I had really fun, and the person that I did it with, like, we are we are like two peas in a pod, and the church, whenever I first started, they already thought that we were twins, and so like our personalities just match so well, and so we're gonna reveal something really special this week that I have been working on behind the scenes, and honestly, I've been holding hostage because I've had it for a long time, but I just had to figure out how I wanted to bring it to light. Um, so I'm really excited for you all to finally see it. I won't spoil it here, but just know this is only the beginning. Okay, so last week we talked about joy, the second fruit of the spirit. One of the biggest things we learned, or I don't know if y'all learned it, but I'll say for me, one of the biggest things I learned is that biblical joy isn't the same as happiness. Remember, happiness comes and goes depending on our circumstances, but joy is something much deeper, it's a lasting confidence that comes from remaining connected to Christ. We looked at what Jesus teaches in John chapter 15 about abiding in him and how just like branches naturally produce healthy fruit when they remain connected to the vine, joy naturally grows in our lives as we remain connected to Jesus. We also spend some time talking about what joy looks like in everyday life. We learn that joy doesn't mean pretending everything is okay or forcing a smile when life is hard. Instead, joy gives us the strength to keep trusting God even in the middle of difficult seasons. So y'all know how we we be so easy to trust other people. Well, let me take the we off of that because me I don't I don't easily trust people um fully, but you know, some people do really trust people more than they trust God, and I think here is where we're learning to trust God more than we trust other people, and like trusting God in the middle of your hardship, in the middle of your trouble to the outside world, it never makes sense, but that is between you and God and how He keeps you, and that's how like people be like, Oh, well, she's always smiling, like she don't never have nothing going on. No, I have stuff going on, but I trust I'm trusting God through it, and so the way I respond to my hurt, my pain, my troubles looks different from somebody who don't really fully trust God. I'm just carrying it well. So, one of my favorite takeaways from last week's episode was joy is not the absence of pain, it's the presence of God in the middle of it. Baby, if you missed that episode, I definitely encourage you to go back and give it a listen because it lays a beautiful foundation for where we're going today. Alright, so when you hear the word peace, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? For some people, peace looks like a quiet house, no little feet hitting the floor, no toys crashing down, no TV running, nobody yapping in your ear. For others, it's finally getting a break, not having to go to work, not having to clock in, not having to listen to nobody talk to you. You may even look at peace as being on the beach listening to the waves, clash against the rocks, sitting on a balcony, you know, and then maybe for you peace is having your bills paid, hmm, hallelujah, your family doing well, or finally getting the answer to a prayer you've been waiting on. But I got a question. What happens when life doesn't go the way we hoped? What happens when things feel uncertain or completely out of our control? Does that mean peace is no longer available? Unavailable. If our peace can only survive perfect circumstances, then it was never built to last. But Jesus offers us something completely different. According to Jesus, there's a kind of peace this world can never give us, which also means there's a kind of peace this world can never take away. And that's the peace we're talking about today. It's the stability that comes from knowing God is with us, even in the middle of life's uncertainties. So today, let's open God's word together and discover what that kind of peace really looks like. So our first scripture today comes from John chapter 14, verse 27. And for a little humor, I'm gonna read the King James Version. It says, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Huh? Come again, say what? That's okay, I got y'all. So my second or third favorite version of the Bible is the contemporary English version. And let me tell y'all, when I was studying, I can't remember if it was John or James, I was studying one of those, and I was reading the scripture in that contemporary English version, and I was like, oh, they kind of feisty over there. I like that. So that's why I like the contemporary English version, and it says, and it also breaks it down and makes it much simpler to understand. So I'm gonna give it to you. Jesus wants us not to worry or be afraid because he gives us peace, the kind of peace that only he can give and not the world. Notice Jesus doesn't simply say, I'm leaving you peace. He says, My peace I give unto you. That one word, my changes everything. Because Jesus is offering us something that belongs to him, he's inviting us to experience the same peace that he walked in. And here's something worth sitting with. Shalom doesn't just mean the absence of conflict, it means wholeness, completeness, completeness. Sorry. Nothing missing, nothing broken. When Jesus tells his disciples, my peace I give unto you, he's not offering a temporary feeling, he's offering wholeness in a moment that by every human measure was about to fall apart, then he immediately tells us that his peace is different from what the world offers. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Why would Jesus need to make that distinction? Well, because he knew his people, he knew us through and through. He knew we would be tempted to confuse worldly peace with godly peace. Most of us naturally connect peace to our circumstances. When things are going well, we feel at peace. When life feels uncertain, that peace can quickly disappear. But the peace Jesus gives isn't dependent on everything around us being okay. It's a peace that remains even when life doesn't go the way we expected. Thank God. And because of that, Jesus could tell his disciples, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Not because trouble would never come, but because his presence would never leave. At first, those words almost seem impossible. But God, who how can Jesus tell his disciples not to let their hearts be troubled when he knows everything they're about to face? In just a short time, they would watch the one they had been following be taken from them. Everything they thought life was going to look like was about to change. So was Jesus telling them they should never experience fear? Nah, I don't think so. I think Jesus was reminding them that fear didn't have to become the thing that led them. There's a difference between feeling fear and being controlled by it. There's a difference between facing uncertainty and allowing uncertainty to determine how you live. Y'all want that one again? I think y'all need that one again. There's a difference between feeling fear and being controlled by it. There's a difference between facing uncertainty and allowing uncertainty to determine how you live. Jesus knew what was ahead. And before his disciples ever walked into that difficult season, he gave them exactly what they were going to need to walk through it. His peace. Not after everything settled down, not after all their questions were answered, before any of it happened. Like that's the part I don't want us to miss. Jesus never promises his disciples that trouble won't come or that life will suddenly become easy. Instead, he promises them something even greater, his presence, in advance of the pain. I think sometimes we find ourselves praying, and I ain't gonna do y'all dirty, I'm gonna say it regular today. I'm gonna give y'all a break. God, if you would just change my situation, then I'd finally have peace. But what if God is more concerned with changing us than changing our circumstances? What if instead of removing every difficult situation, he's teaching us how to remain anchored in him while we walk through it? Peace isn't found in having control over every situation. Peace is found in trusting the one who is in control. Yeah, I need that one again for myself. So I'm gonna read it again for us all. Peace isn't found in having control over every situation. Peace is found in trusting the one who is in control. Gee. So before we move to our second scripture, I want to name something. Because I think it trips a lot of us up. Sometimes we call what we call peace is actually just avoidance. Ooh, we stop thinking about the problem, we distract ourselves, we keep busy enough that we don't have to feel it. Or we use things to cover those feelings and to alter our state of mind. And for a little while, that can feel like relief. But relief isn't the same thing as peace. Angel, relief isn't the same thing as peace. Avoidance says, I feel better because I'm not looking at it. The peace of Jesus says, I can look directly at it and I'm still not shaking. That's a completely different posture. One is built on distance from the problem, the other is built on nearness to God in the middle of the problem. And I think that distinction matters because a lot of us have learned to cope instead of learning to trust. Coping gets us through the moment. Trusting is what actually guards our hearts. So if peace for you has mostly looked like not thinking about it, I want to gently, and I do mean gently, invite you into something deeper this week. Not avoidance, presence. Bringing the very thing you've been avoiding directly to God. Which brings us to our second scripture. Our second scripture comes from Philippians chapter four, verses six and seven. I'm not gonna read the King James Version, but I will read my faith. It says, Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts, offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one completely understand. Can completely understand. My brain be moving a little bit slower than my mouth. Um and this peace will control the way you think and feel. Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts, offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel. Paul tells us exactly what to do. Don't worry about anything, pray about everything. I don't think Paul and Sam will never have moments where we're tempted to worry. I think he's teaching us what to do when worry shows up. Instead of allowing worry to consume us, he tells us to take it to God. So, and I think that's important because, like, you know how you have that one friend who you love oh so dearly, who just needs to vent and vent and vent and vent, and you're like, I really don't know how to help you. I can give the slightest advice, but I think at some point we have to be like, hey friend, I love you dearly, boo, but um, take it to God. I just had a little idea pop up in my head. I ain't gonna tell y'all. Y'all will find out if it actually comes to play. But for real, take it to God, give it to him, lay it at the altar. He is waiting with open arms to take that burden, take everything away from you. Like, think about how often our first response is to worry instead of praying. Something happens, and before we've even talked to God about it, we've already replayed the situation over and over in our minds. Paul shifts our perspective. Instead of carrying it, bring it to God. Let prayer become your first response. Like y'all know how firefighters are the first responders on a scene when someone calls 911. Let God be first on your scene. Let Him be your first responder. He says in everything, the big decisions, the small decisions, the things keeping you up at night. God is inviting us to bring it all to him and to come with thanksgiving. Not because we're grateful for the hard things, but because we're choosing to remember who God is while we're praying about what we're facing. Then Paul gives us a promise. When we bring everything to God in prayer, everything, and I mean everything, to God in prayer, the peace of God will guard our hearts and our minds through Christ Jesus. I love the word guard, a guard protects, a guard watches over, a guard stands between you and whatever is trying to get in. That's what God's peace does. Not because every problem immediately disappears, but because God is presence present in the middle of them. So now that we've talked about both passages, let's see how they work together. And I also want to bring in one more voice to strengthen this. So in John chapter 14, Jesus tells us that he gives us his peace. In Philippians 4, Paul shows us what it looks like to receive it. Prayer instead of worry. And in a in in okay, slow down, girl. And in Isaiah 26, 3, we get the missing piece that ties both of them together. The prophet writes, Thy Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee. And I know we understand that, but it's okay. I'm about to explain it. Notice what that verse locates peace in. Not in our circumstances, not in our understanding, but our mind. Where our mind stays is where our peace lives. That's exactly what Paul told us in Philippians. The peace of God guards our hearts and our minds. And that's exactly what Jesus molded in John chapter 14. He kept his mind fixed on the Father, even walking toward the cross. So here's the thread across all three. Jesus provides the peace. Paul tells us prayer is how we position ourselves to receive it. And Isaiah tells us the mechanism keeping our mind stayed on God, on purpose again and again, especially when it wants to drift toward fear. That's not passive. That's a practice. So let me give you three simple, tangible ways to actually live this out this week. Instead of just admiring it as an idea. Okay. I think you know, I've stopped saying get your notebooks out and your sticky pads and all of that. So I'm gonna say it here because this is very important and it's key to helping you live a better life. So pause, go get your sticky notes, your notebooks, your journals, your foreheads, your palms, your thighs, your mirrors, your old piece of mail or the bill that you don't want to open, and write this down. Number one, name it in the moment it shows up. Don't wait until worry has had all day to build. The instant you notice your mind spiraling, say it out loud to God, right there in that moment. So the minute you look at your bank account and then you look back at a bill that's due in two days, say it out loud. God, I got a bill due and I don't know how I'm gonna pay it. Second, replace that thought instead of stopping it. It's hard to just stop worrying. It's easier to trade the thought. When your mind goes to the worst case scenario, deliberately speak what you know to be true about who God is instead. God, I know you are a provider, you are the protector over my life. I am believing you to carry me and to cover me. Third, practice thanksgiving even when you don't feel like it. Not thanking God for the hard thing itself, but naming one thing you're grateful for in the middle of it. It shifts your mind off of the problem and back onto God, which is exactly where exit exactly where Isaiah tells us peace lives. God, thank you for your love. Thank you for sending your one and only son to die on the cross for my sins and taking that away from me. God, I I thank you for the eyesight in my eyes right now. I thank you for my family. I thank you for my house. I thank you for my children. I thank you for this job. And it'll start shifting your mind and having you think about what God has done and what he's about to do. So as I was studying for this episode, or as I was studying, because not for the episode, I was studying personally, and then it just so happened to turn into a series. I realized something about myself. There have been seasons where I thought I had peace, when in reality, I just had control. A timeline I had built in my head, a version of fine, I was holding on to. And as long as things were tracking with that plan, I felt calm, I felt at peace, I felt okay. I called it peace. But it wasn't peace, it was just familiarity, and then something shifted that I didn't see coming. Something completely outside of my control, and almost immediately that calm disappeared. I found myself up at night running through every possible outcome, trying to manage something I had no power to manage. And God gently reminded me, real peace isn't revealed when everything is going real well. Real peace is revealed when life doesn't go according to plan. Because that's when we discover where our trust has actually been. Has it been in our plans, our ability to figure things out, our timeline, or has it been in God? What actually shifted things for me wasn't a change in my circumstances, it was the moment I stopped trying to think my way out of it and just said it plainly to God out loud, no polished words, just I don't know how this goes, and I'm choosing to trust you anyway. That didn't fix anything overnight, but it was the first time in that season I felt something steady underneath me again, not because the situation resolved, because I finally stopped carrying it alone. That was such a humbling reminder for me. Peace isn't pretending that hard things don't affect us, peace is choosing to trust God while we're walking through them even and especially when we don't get to see how the story ends yet. You can't just flip through the pages and go to the end of the book and figure out the story. No, you have to read the story page by page, lesson by lesson, moment by moment, to see how it ends. If there was one thing I hope you take away from today's episode, it's the peace Jesus offers is unlike anything the world can give. The world tells us peace comes when everything around us is settled settles down. Jesus tells us peace comes from remaining close to Him. One kind of peace is temporary, the other is lasting, one depends on circumstances, the other depends on Christ. So whatever you're carrying today, whatever has been keeping you up at night, whatever you've been you've been trying to figure out on your own, don't carry it by yourself anymore. Bring it to God, pray about it, trust him with it, fix your mind on him and let his peace guard your heart and your mind. Because peace isn't the absence of problems, it's the confidence that no matter what you're facing, God is with you every step of the way. That was good. Next week, we'll continue our fruit of the spirit. As we walk and talk about patience. Patience is much more than simply waiting, it's learning to trust God's timing, even when it looks different from our own. Throughout scripture, we see that God often uses waiting seasons to grow our faith, strengthen our character, and draw us closer to Him. To prepare for next week's episode, I encourage you to spend some time reading Romans chapter 12, verse 12, and James chapter 5, verses 7 and 8. As you read, ask yourself this question: How can I remain faithful while I'm waiting on God to move? I can't wait to study those scriptures with you. It's gonna be so good. I appreciate you so much for spending this time with me today and allowing me to spend this time in the Word with you. If this episode encouraged you, challenged you, or gave you something to reflect on, I'd truly love to hear from you. Leave a review, share the episode with a friend, let me know what stood out to you most, or do it all. And don't forget to stay connected with Gospel Girlies throughout the week. You can follow us on Instagram at GospelGirlies and on TikTok at GospelGirlies with one underscore for encouragement, updates, and conversations beyond the podcast. And this is becoming my favorite part of the episode. For the next few moments, no music, no distractions, no phone, no pressure to perform, just you and God. Remember, as you inhale, ya, as you exhale, weigh. Ready? Last time. As always, adventure and faith begin today. Remember to walk boldly, live faithfully, and step into God's plan for you. Because it is greater than anything you could ever imagine. I'll see you next time on Gospel Girlies Wednesday at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Bye.