Through The Bible in a Year - October 19, 2026

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

Paul's greetings repeatedly pair these two words: grace and peace. Grace is peace with God being provided; peace is grace from God being believed. Where grace is truly received and believed, peace inevitably follows — because faith in God’s grace means that we never will have to face God on the basis of what we've earned, but solely on the basis of the gift of His love.

A pastor once recalled a gruff and emotionally distant grandfather who unexpectedly gave him a treasured tackle box after a childhood disappointment. The gift was not earned or deserved, but provided purely out of the love in the grandfather’s heart. The gift did more than provide a welcomed joy for the child; it closed a distance. The crustiness the child has perceived in his grandfather melted away, and their relationship changed as a consequence of that gift. That is something of what grace does for us as God’s grace removes the distance we perceive between us and Him. Even when we rightly see our sin and know that we deserve judgment, the gift of Jesus Christ closes distance between us and God, removes our fears, and assures us of his love.

When that grace is truly perceived — not just recited as a religious phrase — it produces peace even when our circumstances are hard. Paul said it produced peace for him even in a prison cell. Grace received and believed produces peace experienced, regardless of circumstances, because peace on earth is not rooted in the always challenging circumstances of a fallen world but in the always faithful God who gives the gift of eternal life by His grace.

RESPOND: Where in your life do you relate to God more on the basis of earning his love by your performance rather than receiving his love as a gift? What would it look like to receive His grace today the way a child receives an unearned present?

Recall the tackle-box story: has there been an unearned gift in your life — from God or from someone else — that unexpectedly closed a distance in a relationship? If you are currently anxious about a circumstance, consider whether that anxiety is the result of concerns competing with the assurances of God’s grace that secures your future eternally. Confess the anxiety. Then, rest in the grace.

PRAYER: Father, thank You for grace I did not earn and peace I do not deserve. Close the distance between us that my sin and anxiety create and let the reality of Your gift settle my heart today, whatever my circumstances. In Jesus' name, amen.