Grace and Peace


Grace and Peace


Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:2 NASB

So how often does grace and peace occur together in the New Testament? [i] About 18 times, most of which are Paul addressing the people he is writing to. But is Paul doing more than offering a common greeting like “hello” or “how are you doing?” I think He is.

Saying “hi” is something we all do, even Paul does it every day. Every communication has a greeting, an introduction, that is just a part of writing. But Paul is greeting people with an awareness that we need more than grace. We need the combination of both grace and peace. Paul wants the followers of Christ Jesus to have this as an introduction to their lives. The awareness of kindness (grace) manifests in our bodies, minds, and souls producing peace.

Maybe grace and peace are like some other common pairs I know. Like burger and fries or smile and laughter. Life is full of doubles. Joy and thanksgiving, root beer and ice-cream, and grace and peace.
Paul wrote the passage above from a place on imprisonment. He had honest questions about the work of His life, the conditions he would live and die in and the relationship he had with friends. Paul experienced a lot of God grace or favor. But Paul also lived in peace. Maybe if we all knew where we were going we would have more peace.

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
 Philippians 1:21 NASB

This is not a positive confession for Paul but a living expression of His peace. I have moments when I have great peace too. Moments when living or dying seems very small in comparison to what God is doing. I’m sure you have these too. But often we settle for these moments being just that, moments. We don’t cling to the hope that peace is enduring. It seems that many of us lose our peace to easily and rediscover it only at great cost.

I made a list of the times I specifically want both grace and peace in my life. You should make a list too. Think about those times when you are aware you lack peace. Times when you still know God loves you, but you are wrestling with fear or anxiety. Maybe my list can help you make yours.
·        When I screw up, make mistakes out of anger or frustration.

  • ·        When I rebel, get hostel toward authority or just other people getting their way.
  • ·        In times of confusion, lacking purpose or direction.
  • ·        In seasons of pain or hurting. Those times when I’m stressed over suffering.
  • ·        Injustice, my judgment that someone is not getting what I want them to have. I lack peace when someone who I feel needs to be corrected gets away with it and when someone needs a break is held accountable.
  • ·        And then when I face the demonized, truly evil, the hateful. This often reduces my peace down to an attempt to protect myself or those I love.


In the Old Testament, shalom is the word for peace. It’s a word that means soundness or health. It carries the overtones of a good relationship. My list above helps me see those broken relationships as well as misdeeds are the cause of peace-lessness. I tend to see peace as a blessing and not as an element of a healthy life. I get it that relationships have an effect on my peace, but how can grace help me have more? What’s the insight into connecting these two together?

But how can God’s grace help me have God’s peace?

These two words occur often in Paul’s writings. He knows how they work together. This union, like grace and truth or love and kindness, are an expression of an authentic relationship with God. So, how can God’s grace help me experience His peace?

I often see the kindness or grace of God as a resource to help get me out of trouble. This trouble may be financial or relational. It might be my over imagining what might happen, or my anxiety in facing what is happening. But for the most part, I see peace as what I get when the grace is applied and realized. Peace is like the calm after the storm. But Paul seems to want me to live with peace in the storm. To have peace before, during and after the grace of God does its part.

If I get out of this, I have peace. If I don’t get out of this, I still have peace. Is that a redneck mystic reflecting the heart of Paul as he writes Phil. 1:21 above. In life or death, sickness or health, poverty or wealth; my soul is at peace. But that is not the way it is most of the time.

So, what do I do to reject peace?

It is time for another list. Time for me to listen to the Holy Spirit and see what we come up with as sources of pushing away the peace of God so that I can live my own life. A life that is more often than not lacking real peace.

I reject the peace of God by….
  • ·        Trying to punish myself. Emphasizing how undeserving I am and rejecting Gods love so that I feel a little better about myself. My broken thinking says, “I must be more loved by God if I am just a little more severe with myself than He is.”
  • ·        Using anxiety as a sign of care and responsibility. If I don’t fret, worry or lack peace, how do I know that I am truly concerned? You can’t live life all peaceful, can you? Stress helps you know what you care about – right?
  • ·        Using worries as a motivation. If I go to the place of worry and fear I get motivated. How does God want me to find motivation if He is offering me peace in every circumstance? What would I need to learn to do, live motivated by joy or love?
  • ·        Letting people shame me out of my peace. When surrounded by others panicking about politics, or issues, or events, I let them take my peace because I perceive that having peace is not pleasing to them. So, I sell what God has given me for what others think of me.


OK, that’s a beginning list of how I get rid of peace even when God’s grace is active in my life. I hope it helps you see into your own soul and with the Holy Spirit make some discoveries.
Now to end this section I want to offer a prayer of reflection. I want to ask God for the active presence of grace and peace in my life. And I want my asking to be an expression of hope and maturity. Hope that I might have all that God provides for me and maturity to seek. Seeking is not demanding but that longing to have more, humble and yet persistently.

Father, I want grace and peace from you.
Not what I make
but what you have provide
Not just the grace and peace of this world
I want the stuff of God
The best stuff
I want YOUR grace and peace in me
Something the world did not give and which they cannot take away.




OK, this is a chapter from a book I am writing on Overcoming fear. Let me know what you think. The book is only on page 34 so it will be awhile. Trying to finish one up called Lost on Memory Lane. That one has to do with thinks I learne while being with my Mom who is experiencing memory loss. 


How To Pray: Spiritual Formation Edition


[i] NASB Rom_1:7; Rom_16:20; 1Co_1:3; 2Co_1:2; Gal_1:3; Eph_1:2; Php_1:2; Col_1:2; 1Th_1:1; 2Th_1:2; 1Ti_1:2; 2Ti_1:2; Tit_1:4; Phm_1:3; 1Pe_1:2; 2Pe_1:2; 2Jn_1:3; Rev_1:4.

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