The Peace of God

Philippians 4:7 “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (New King James Version)

Last Sunday I told my Pastor I was anxious and fearful about my upcoming dental procedures. I had three upcoming appointments at the dentist to have deep cleaning and some teeth removed to get dental clearance for my knee replacement surgery December 1^st. I had not been taking care of my teeth like you are supposed to and these teeth could not be saved. I was worried about the deep cleaning as it hurt the last time, I had a cleaning. I also had a tooth out before, and I was in a great deal of pain afterwards for a couple of days without strong pain medications. (Can you tell I do not like to be in pain?) I was worried about missing too much work. I was also worried about the costs after my insurance paid their part. My Pastor offered to pray with me.

While my Pastor was praying, he prayed I would have the peace which passes all understanding. Suddenly a light went on in my head. I had heard the phrase “peace which passes all understanding” hundreds of times in my life but I never really thought about it. The light in my head said: “this peace is from God, and it is beyond our understanding.” It is not like the peace we think about when we have conflicts with one another. It is not the absence of war or conflict. It is a peace which settles deep inside of us giving us the knowledge we can trust God completely in everything.

It is beyond understanding because it is God-given. God’s wisdom and understanding is far greater than we can comprehend. After all, He cares for each of us deeply yet keeps the universe going exactly how it is supposed to go. He knows our name and He knows what is best for us but also gives us free will to go our own way. Yet trusting God and completely giving Him what we are anxious about leads to this perfect peace. I experienced this peace this past week.

My first appointment was 8am Monday morning to start the deep cleaning process. I was scheduled to work at 11am at my part time job at Walmart. The hygienist was wonderful. She numbed up my gums before going to work with a power washing tool I did not know existed. It took about an hour to clean the bottom teeth in my mouth and answer all my questions. Afterwards, I kept waiting for my mouth to have a great deal of pain, but it did not happen. I went to work and completed my shift without problem.

Wednesday morning at 8am I was scheduled to have the other half of my teeth cleaned. I felt comfortable with the procedure now and felt a sense of peace. The teeth removal was scheduled for 1pm the same day. After the teeth cleaning, I went home and ate a little and took a nap. I am often awake during the early hours of the night, and I woke up at 4:30am and could not go back to sleep. It was not because I was anxious it was more of an excitement to get the procedure done so I could have my knee surgery.

Normally I would be in great fear about how much pain I would be in, about missing work, and the cost of the procedure. Yet here I was taking a nap before I went back to the dentist that day. Must have been the peace of God inside of me beyond my understanding, but still there.

The dentist was amazing, and it took about an hour start to finish. The dentist allotted two hours and I was thinking it would be two hours. When the dentist had finished removing my teeth, I could not talk with being all numb up and big wads of cotton gauze in my mouth. The arranged for a follow up visit in four weeks. In the initial exam the week before I was given an estimate by the dentist on how much the dental procedures would cost. I told them I had half set aside and they said I could pay the rest in a couple of payments. So, after the teeth removable I asked if I could pay $400. I could not talk so they had me write on paper any questions I had. They said the $800 estimate was for worse-case scenario. The final cost was less than the $400. I was in shock!

I was in shock because this was not the first dentist, I went to for surgery clearance. The first dentist wanted to remove all my upper teeth and three of my lower. He wanted me to buy dentures from him. He also wanted me to purchase a $130 toothbrush and spend $38 for toothpaste and $38 for dental rinse. My total bill came to just under $4000 after insurance. This dentist said he would not proceed unless I produced the $4000 before the first dentist would do any work on my teeth. I was in tears after I left the first dentist. It was then I realized I should get a second opinion. I am sure glad I did because the second dentist only needed to remove two teeth of my upper teeth not all of them.

Not only did I not have to worry about a dental bill to pay off but through out the evening I did not have much pain. I was expecting to be in a lot more pain but throughout the afternoon and evening I never experienced much pain. Still a friend asked if she could do anything for me and I said yes. Deep inside I really did not want to bother her, but the dentist had prescribed a dental rinse and steroids to help with the swelling and pain. Even though I had extraordinarily little pain I still was coming off the Novocain and had a mouth full of gauze. I did not want to drive all the way to Walmart to get my prescriptions. She said she would and had other things to get there so it worked out well.

I still did not have pain as I slept well through the night. The next day, per the instructions from the dentist, I stayed home. It felt good to nap a couple of times throughout the day. By evening I got ambitious and made a fall wreath for my door. The Lord gave a sense of peace throughout this past week. I just cannot explain it, but it is the most wonderful peace I have ever had. The verse before verse seven says “6Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (NKJV). Give to God whatever is bothering you and give Him thanks for giving the Peace of God.

Below is a book and a couple of gift ideas from this verse. If you click on the link and make a purchase I may receive a small percentage of the purchase at no extra cost to you. This helps keeps this website active. Thanks for your support.

The Peace of God
By Jim Rannells / WestBow Press

Peace of God Palm Cross
By Lighthouse Christian Products

Small cross fits into the palm of your hand to encourage and comfort you. Squeezable bright blue color with Scripture verse, The peace of God…exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds. Philippians 4:7. Foam rubber; 5″ x 4″.

The Peace of God, Philippians 4:7, Olivewood Plaque
By Logos Trading Post

Wood plaque handcrafted of natural olive wood from Bethlehem

• For desktop display; with dowel easel at the back
• 2.75″ x 4″ with Scripture verse quote in white lettering
• Due to natural wood variations, the grain and shading on each plaque will differ slightly
• The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7
• For desk, shelf or table display