September 2026

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:6-9).

Our world is a world that is full of turmoil, upheaval, pain, and chaos; all you have to do is turn on the news, or check out the internet to see evidence of this.  All around the world we see warfare, violence, poverty, hunger, disease, and disaster.  And, this can feel overwhelming, especially when we are experiencing the worst that this world has to offer.  When we’re dealing with an illness, or we lose someone we love, or we’re not sure how we’re going to be able to afford groceries this month…when these sorts of things happen, it’s easy to feel anxiety, fear, and worry.  But, that’s what makes these passages so beautiful and poignant; they remind us that God is in control and everything is in His perfectly capable hands.

When we look at the first passage from Proverbs, we see that God is telling us to trust in Him, to not lean on our limited human ability and understanding.  What this means is that we should put our human understanding aside, we should not depend upon it, but depend totally on God and His perfect power and understanding.  Then, God tells us to submit to Him in all ways.  This means to invite Him into our daily lives, to submit to His will and His authority in every aspect of our lives, public and private; to do even the most mundane tasks or our day-to-day existence in His presence and for His glory.  Then, we are told that if we do that, if we lean on God and submit to Him in all our ways, He will make our paths straight.  This means that God will guide us to where He would have us go; therefore, we can move forward with our lives in confidence and in peace knowing that He is leading us forward.

Then, in the second passage from Philippians, Paul encourages us not to be anxious about anything because we have the ability to bring all our requests to God in prayer.  And, if we do present our requests to God in prayer, we have been promised that, through Jesus, we will have the peace of God, a peace that is greater than anything we could possibly begin to imagine or understand.  But, Paul continues and tells us that if we dwell on what is true, what is noble, what is right, what is pure, what is lovely, what is admirable, what is excellent, what is praiseworthy, if we dwell on these things instead of upon the evils and troubles of this world, and if we put into practice what we have been taught in God’s Word, God and His peace will be with us.  What that means is, if we get to where we are feeling anxious, worried, or afraid of any of the bad things that happen in this world, when those feelings arise, we need to shift our focus from those things and instead focus upon God and all of the wonderful things of His Kingdom.  By doing this, we will find a respite from the anxiety and worry; we will find peace in remembering, and dwelling upon, the things of God.

These two passages serve as a great source of encouragement for me while I’m living in this fallen world with all of its brokenness and pain.  They are an excellent reminder of the fact that we have not been left alone to deal with the craziness that this world throws at us; that the God of the universe, in His perfect power and wisdom and understanding is right beside us offering us a peace that surpasses all understanding even, or especially, in the face of chaos.  My prayer for each one of you reading this  is that you will claim the promises of Proverbs and Philippians, that you will lean on God, submit to Him in all your ways, bring your requests to Him in prayer, dwell upon the things of God, put into practice what His Word teaches, and thus experience the true peace that He has promised.  Don’t get caught up in the chaos, uncertainty, insanity and pain of this world; instead, immerse yourself in the Word, immerse yourself in God, and be at peace!

May the blessings of the Father and the peace of the Son be with you all!

Pastor Keith