Peace in Waiting
Pastor Calvin Cook
May 20, 2025
Philippians 4:6–7 Do not be anxious about anything but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
In our journey these last couple of weeks since Resurrection Sunday, I have been sympathizing with the disciples in the days following the crucifixion. Their Teacher, their Friend, their Hope—had been taken from them in the most brutal of ways. Everything they thought they understood about the Kingdom, the Messiah, and their purpose suddenly seemed uncertain. They were hiding behind locked doors, doubting the resurrection had happened. They were seeking physical evidence while at the same time gripped by fear and anxiety, unsure of what tomorrow would bring. Even after hearing of the resurrection, they struggled to make sense of it all.
Can you relate?
We live in a very uncertain world. Between crises in our own lives, our family, and our friends. We see crisis in our communities, personal losses, broken relationships, instability, and even our own internal doubts. Anxiety can quickly become our daily focus. Like the disciples, we often hide behind our own “locked doors,” unsure of how to move forward.
In all of the mentions that we have already talked through, notice what Jesus did.
He didn’t wait for them to come to Him. He came to them—right in the middle of their fear. Behind locked doors, in doubt, on the road to Emmaus, at the lake shore. He stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” This wasn’t just a kind greeting. It was a declaration. Almost a direction to receive the Peace that only Jesus could offer. That peace was and still is experienced only in the presence of Jesus.
Jesus didn’t promise that everything would make sense immediately. He didn’t erase the danger outside those locked doors. But He gave them something deeper: Peace that surpasses understanding. (Philippians 4:6–7)
As we live in the “in-between”—between resurrection and fulfillment, between promise and reality—we’re reminded that anxiety is not a sign of faithlessness but an invitation to encounter Jesus again. A desire to experience Jesus in the present right now. But first, we are going to have to be ready to say “My Lord and My God, here I am ready to receive”
What are your “locked doors” right now? Where are you afraid to trust?
Take a few moments in silence today and invite Jesus to stand in the room with you. Ask Him for His peace. The peace that Jesus brings will be a peace that passes all understanding and where all anxieties cease.
Don’t allow the distractions of the devil to keep you from experiencing Jesus !
Thoughts from the Edges 
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