Top Secret Peace Plan - Bible Plan Verse #6

Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ NLT)

Read it again.

And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds. (‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ERV)

WHAT STICKS OUT?

God's unimaginable peace

WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE?

>>> TARP OF UNDERSTANDING <<<

This verse tells us that God's peace is more than we can understand. We have some ideas about peace, but it's limited by what we see and understand like it's hidden or covered. The Holy Spirit showed me this as a heavy, military-grade, cloth tarp draped over some kind of equipment. The cloth wraps around the thing it covers so that you can almost guess what's under it, but you're not quite sure. You believe it's something great but it's like a top secret project that you're not allowed to see. Many times that's what happens with God's peace. Our limited understanding, our self centered view of the world, covers up God's true peace like a thick tarp. God's peace is still under there, but we have a hard time seeing it.

>>> THE LITTLE ZIPPER <<<

I recently got a pair of pants with a button fly. It's made me realize how nice and simple it is to have a zipper. Wouldn't it be nice to have a simple zipper to open up that heavy tarp that's covering the fullness of God's peace? Actually we do! You'll notice the zipper has the initials THX. If you didn't know, that's a shorthand version of the word "Thanks." We learn from the verse right before this one (Philippians 4:6) that thankfulness to God is the simple solution to unzip God's peace.

>>> HAND OF PEACE <<<

How can you draw a picture of peace without relying on a symbol like the dove or international sign for peace? Peace is a funny word because it's easier to define by what it is not. Go ahead, just try to describe peace without calling it "not war or fighting or violence." Even this verse tells us that God's peace will guard your thoughts and feelings. This idea makes me think of a shield which is a tool for war. Using weapons of war to describe peace is limiting God's peace to what our minds can handle.

Recently my wife was overwhelmed by her To-Do List so she began meditating on this verse for well over a week. She found that when she focused on thanking God, it wasn't that her problems went away, but it was like God pulled her out of her problems to understand His perspective. It was like He lifted her high up out of the mud so she could see what God saw. And what did He show her? That He is bigger than your problems. That He has taken care of them before you even saw them coming. You struggle to find peace when you are trying to manage what's going around you because you do not have that power to control the world. But God does! When you truly see God for how big He is and trust in Him instead of yourself, your problem don't destroy your peace. Your problems point you to the Prince of Peace.

Philippians 4:6 Flowchart - Bible Plan Verse #3

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. (‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬ NLT)

Read it again.

Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks for what you have. (‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬ ERV)

WHAT STICKS OUT?

Worry versus Prayer

Don't worry. Pray happy!

WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE?

>>> FLOWCHART <<<

Flowcharts visually map out a process. I see a lot of them at work and most times it helps me get a better handle on the path to solving a problem. This verse seems simple enough, but a flowchart helped me see the bigger picture.

>>> DIAMOND SHAPED BOX <<<

In a flowchart, a diamond shaped box represents a decision point. It's important to realize that every problem we face comes with a choice. And our choices reveal the answer to a deeper question. Who would you rather handle this problem: you or God?

>>> CHOOSING TO PRAY <<<

When I first started piecing together this flowchart, on the prayer-side of the chart, I wanted to add elements like "pray without ceasing" or "work together with God to solve the problem", but the Holy Spirit stopped me. There was no need to add anything to what God already said. So I kept the prayer-side simple with the only two things this verse says to do: tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.

>>> CHOOSING TO WORRY <<<

The worry-side is a stark contrast to the prayer-side. There is mass confusion and a constant push to do anything and everything to make the problem go away. I was surprised when the Holy Spirit showed me that the first step in worrying is planning. When a problem occurs, shouldn't we be working toward a solution? Yes, but too often our planning is how we try to take control of the situation without considering God's plan. That's not to say we should never plan anything, but you need to make you plans with God instead of by yourself.

>>> WHERE'S THE END? <<<

You may have realized that there is no end to this flowchart. It's just a continuous cycle. Sometimes you'll choose to pray. Other times you'll choose to worry. So you're probably asking yourself, "How am I supposed to solve these problems then if there is no end?" Too often we forget that God didn't ask us to be problem-solvers. He asked us to be Christ-followers. Stop trying to solve every problem. Just follow God.

Refocus - Bible Plan Verse #2

Author's Notes: So I had finished all of the heavy lifting to complete my impossible dream of getting a submit a Bible plan to YouVersion (a.k.a. the Bible App) even though they aren't taking submissions. All I needed to do was to perform the final reviews and post. Of course that's when life gets in the way. My wife and I are in the process of international adoption and needless to say, there are times that are much busier than others. But it's time to stop making excuses and time to start making God a priority. Unsurprisingly, today's verse is on the importance of the proper focus.

I've reworked the format of the blog posts to provide more insights into what I drew and why I drew it. It's like getting to be a fly on the wall while God and I discuss His word through my mind's eye. It has been incredibly influential to me as well because it helps me to break down thoughts into words and dig even deeper into the heart of our Creator.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ NLT)

Read it again.

Finally, brothers and sisters, keep your thoughts on whatever is right or deserves praise: things that are true, honorable, fair, pure, acceptable, or commendable. (Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ GOD'S WORD® Translation)

WHAT STICKS OUT?

Action words: "Fix your thoughts"

WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE?

>>> MAGNIFYING GLASS <<<

The definition of "fix" in this sentence is a purposeful direction, attention, or focus on one specific thing such as "fix your eyes on Jesus" (Hebrews 12:2). So when you "fix your thoughts" on good things, it doesn't mean that bad things no longer exist. It means that you are choosing to focus on these good things instead of the bad.

>>> IN FOCUS: MAN & BOY <<<

So what are these "good things" that we should be filling our minds with? What is "true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable?" Perhaps you think of your favorite memories or people who inspired you or selfless actions. These thoughts fall far short of the standard. What is good? Even Jesus said, "Only God is truly good." (‭Mark‬ ‭10‬:‭18‬ NLT). Only God meets this requirement, and only actions performed out of God's love are worthy of praise. This praise is not for you, but for God. I drew this "good thing" as the cross the man is giving to a boy which is a metaphor for sharing the gospel, the "good news"! Recently my family has been breaking it down in a simpler, daily example of God's goodness that my wife calls a GGG! (Give God Glory) We take time to give God glory for what He's doing in our lives. This could be as big as a promotion at work, but normally God shows up in much more subtle ways throughout your day, such as that "coincidental" encounter with a person at the grocery store that had a word of encouragement just for you at just the right time. When you take the time to look for how God has shown up today, you will be surprised at how often He works in your life. The more you look for God, the more you will see Him. The more you see Him, the less you get distracted by anything else.

>>> OUT OF FOCUS: MONSTER <<<

When I take a step back and take a practical look at the idea of putting all the focus completely on God, the prideful fighter in me doesn't like it one bit! It feels like there is a monster is in the background just waiting to attack. I think to myself, "Ignoring the problem won't solve the problem! I have to do something!" Don't confuse giving a problem to God with ignoring a problem. What happens when you focus on the problem? Over planning. Anxiety. Fear. Negativity. Stress. At best, you survive the problem just to see another one on the horizon.

What happens when you focus on God? You give Him control. He takes care of you although not usually in the way your earthly mind would prefer. And in the process He produces in you: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control (Galatians 5:22-23).

There will always be problems, but our focus shouldn't be on solutions. We live abundant life when we focus on God and act out of His blessings that are "excellent and worthy of praise".

Day 345

...down in my heart! Where? Down in my heart to stay (John 15:11)

During a time where I was praying and fasting, God gave me one little word. I wasn’t looking for this word. I didn’t see it coming. I was looking for something else…something that seemed so much more important. I was drowning in all the questions of life. Am I where I'm supposed to be? Am I doing what I’m supposed to be doing? I was surrounded by confusion in my single-minded, brute-force, straight-ahead attack, when out of nowhere that one little word appeared and all my stress was swept away. That’s not to say that all my problems disappeared. They still remained as imminent as ever, but now I was seeing them from a different perspective, perhaps a higher elevation. I am still seeking guidance for those problems, but my burden has lightened. What tiny, little word could do all this you might ask? Joy!

Never forget that you were made to be full of joy! Now I know that the circumstances of life will roundhouse kick you into a pile of problems, so you’ve got an excuse not to have joy then, right? Nope! We are command to rejoice in the Lord always (Philippians 4:4) because He has overcome the problems of this world (John 16:33).

So how on God’s green earth is this "continual joy" practically accomplished? First, you need to know that joy is a God-given internal state of mind and not based on your circumstances. People think joy is an outward expression of happiness, but that is only the result of the true internal joy. Knowing this, I have learned that I have to choose joy because it is always an option, even when I don’t think it is. But still, every day after I received that three-letter word, my joy has been threatened, and sometimes it has been stolen from me. Every now and then I could use a little boost of joy as a reminder, and that’s where this little webpage comes in. It’s an anthology of doodles and dabbling into the joy of the Bible – a record and reminder to choose God-given joy!

Life is serious. So enjoy.


If you get up from the roundhouse kick to land a haymaker on your problems: