How to Find Peace When Your World is Falling Apart

The most infamous young woman to ever win the Miss Williamsburg Virginia Beauty

Pageant has to be Tracy Pappard.

She was crowned Miss Universe in 1993. She served her year well,

representing the city of Williamsburg, in many activities.

But on the night her reign came to an end in February of 1994,

she crowned her successor and then drove 250 miles intent on killing her boyfriend's

new lover and that girl's parents.

Tracy had taken with her on that trip a 9mm pistol, a butcher knife,

lighter fluid, matches and a hammer.

When she arrived at her rival's house, she rang the doorbell and the girl's father answered it.

Tracy said she was having car trouble and she needed to use their phone.

Once inside the house, she took out the hammer and hit the father on the back

of his head as he walked her to the phone.

She stunned him but didn't knock him out.

He grabbed her and struggled with her, but she pulled the pistol out of her

purse and tried to shoot him.

Hearing the commotion and the struggle, the man's wife ran to help her husband,

and together they were able to wrestle Tracy to the ground and hold her there

until the police arrived.

When asked why she did what she did, Tracy responded that she was only looking for inner peace.

I believe that night, as Tracy's reign was coming to an end as the beauty queen,

she asked herself the question, how do I find peace when my world is falling apart?

To Tracy, it must have felt as if her world was indeed falling apart.

Everything was going the wrong way.

Her reign was ending, coming to the end of that year with nothing definite for

a future, and seemingly having lost her boyfriend.

Tracy must have felt like the pit in her stomach, like all of us feel sometimes

when we face situations that seem insurmountable.

Scott, her boyfriend, had promised her that he would show up for the program

for the pageant, but he hadn't arrived.

She knew that since he wasn't there, he must be in the arms of his new girlfriend.

And Tracy figured out if she couldn't have peace, without him,

she would find a way to do away with the girl and her parents.

I wonder if there aren't times in our lives when our world seems to be caving in around us.

It seems like everything is causing us havoc, and we wonder if we can ever find inner peace.

Paul arrives to give us some hope in the passage we will be reading from this morning.

So we'll be reading from Philippians chapter 4, verses 4 through 13.

Philippians 4:4–13

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice.

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition,

with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts

and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable,

if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me,

put it into practice, and the God of peace will be with you.

I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me.

Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content

whatever the circumstances.

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.

I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,

whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

I am convinced that most people in life never find inner peace because they

are looking for it and looking for it in the wrong places.

When people seem to equate peace and happiness, they equate it with success and possessions.

Most people seem to equate peace with doing away with the things that cause

stress, disruption, and unrest.

If you can do away with stress and disruption and unrest, you're living in a

different world than I am living in.

Peace is not getting rid of those things. Peace is being able to live through

those and have the right mindset for that.

Charles Swindoll said, I'm convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

While most people think that peace is something that happens to us based on

our circumstances, Paul tells us that peace is actually an attitude that comes

from within us because of a person.

He says this, Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice.

Let your gladness be evident to all.

The Lord is near. Habakkuk, who wrote his prophecy in the book of Habakkuk,

at the prosopis that he wrote in a time of huge upheaval for the land and nation of Israel.

The king of Judah at the time was King Jehoiakim, and his reign was known for

corruption and evil, as well as making alliances with pagan nations.

The people of Judah had reverted to idol worship, and the Babylonian Empire

was beginning to make its way to overtake the land of Judah and Israel.

Crops and livestock were being destroyed, and people were going hungry.

Habakkuk was pleading to God to save the nation, God's people,

from certain annihilation.

Sounds familiar. And yet, in Habakkuk 3, verses 16b through 19,

we find these words of him recorded.

He says this, Yes, I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us.

So he's waiting for calamity to come on those who are going to attack Israel.

Though the fig tree does not bud, and though there are no grapes on the vines,

though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord.

I will be joyful in God my Savior. The sovereign Lord is my strength.

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer. He enables me to tread on the heights.

This and Paul's admonition to rejoice in the face of calamity and trust in the

strength of our Savior gives us understanding that we should be a reminder of this to each one of us.

We should remind each other that we are to rejoice in the Lord even in the times of calamity.

How many do we know that.

Live in the pit of misery. In fact, they thrive in the pit of misery.

But Paul is saying, don't live there.

Misery is not the same as Missouri, but sometimes they're equated.

But anyway, but we need to live in rejoicing, even in the times of calamity,

and rejoice that the Lord's got this.

Chapter 4 of Philippians is about inner peace, but Paul does not start talking

about peace, he starts talking about Jesus, because Jesus is the author of peace.

He's the Prince of Peace.

Paul tells us that Jesus is near, the Lord is near.

And for Paul, the fact that Jesus was near meant that Jesus was in control because

he does not abandon his authority to anybody else.

If Jesus is near, he is in control.

One of my favorite parts of Psalm 23 is, the Lord is with me.

That's just one little phrase in Psalm 23, but that fact, the Lord is with me,

he is with me, his rod and his staff, they comfort me.

Now, I will tell you that my dad's rod did not comfort me, but that's not what

this was talking about in Psalm 23, but we can understand that there's just

this feeling that if the Lord is with us, everything's okay.

Several years ago, actually, it's been, oh my, too many years ago, about 30.

Several years ago, when we lived in Linden, Michigan, one of our youngest daughter,

Bethany's grade school teachers, lost her battle with cancer and passed away.

The whole school was hurting, and Bethany's fellow students were especially distressed.

When asked how she could fall asleep peacefully at night,

Bethany revealed to her classmates that she had asked Jesus to take care of

her teacher and that Jesus was in control now, and she figured if he was in

control, she didn't have to worry about it.

Isn't that faith? Paul wrote this whole chapter on peace, but he started talking

about Jesus and his character because Paul knew you cannot find peace by looking for it.

You find peace by trusting. You can only find peace by looking to Jesus and resting in him.

Paul describes himself as a Hebrew of Hebrews, so he would have known full well

the Old Testament scriptures from Isaiah that clearly state that principle.

Isaiah chapter 26, verses 3 and 4 reads like this, you will keep in perfect

Isaiah 26:3

peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you.

Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the rock eternal.

How many rocks do you know, rocks eternal, can easily be pushed aside.

Our God is there all of the time for us, and he's steadfast.

A lack of peace comes from uncertainty. Back in 1976, yes, I was. I am that old.

I went on a rock climbing trip to the desert area of Arizona when my body was

hanging on a cliffed wall about 50 feet up in the air with my fingers crammed

into a crack to hold me there.

On the face of that rock,

I can assure you that I wasn't much at peace. But yet I could trust in that rock.

Knowing that that rock had been there unchanged for thousands of years made

me more certain of myself and of my handholds.

There's that stability in that rock. I knew that rock had been unchanged,

and if I had my fingers wedged in that rock and my feet in the footholds that

I had below me, I was going to be fine.

So too is Jesus our stability. He's the rock of our salvation,

a stronghold in times of need and trouble today.

But today in 2025, we just don't seem to get it.

When our life is falling apart, we wonder, where has God gone?

Why has God deserted us? We take our eyes off Jesus, and like Peter,

stepping out into the water, we look at the waves and the storm and the raging

waters around us, and we say, well, there's no peace here.

We try to look for peace on our own, away from the church and away from Christ.

We look for peace in what we do and what we can make happen and what we can make we can accomplish.

Instead of finding the peace we're looking for so desperately,

we create the turmoil in our lives that we hate so much.

Think about these two questions this morning. What is it that is causing your world to fall apart?

And where are you looking for your peace?

You will never find peace by looking for something. You will only find peace by looking to Jesus.

And then you will never find peace when your world is falling apart by worrying about it.

Instead, you should pray. What is the first thing that most people do when things

don't seem to go their way?

What is the first thing that most people do when they are uncertain about their future, they worry.

They do not know what's going to happen, and so they worry.

In fact, most people begin worrying when their mind conjures up a possibility

that they might have an uncertain future. It doesn't even have to be a reality yet.

It is said that worry is the interest we pay on tomorrow's event.

Get that? It's the interest we pay on tomorrow's event. We don't know what tomorrow's

going to bring, but worry causes us to pay an interest on that because we don't

even know what's going to happen.

Thoughts produce feelings. Feelings produce actions.

Actions have consequences. How many times have people allowed their feelings

to run rampant because of irrational thoughts that lead to worry,

which then leads them to take preventative action that causes more trouble and

hardship than if they had just waited to see what truly might happen.

And deal with it one day at a time. Paul tells us to do, what Paul tells us

to do is to stop and pray. Why?

Because we need to get in touch with the one who gives us peace.

Paul knows that worry is like a runaway train that is out of control.

Paul continues in his writing by saying this, do not be anxious about anything,

but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,

present your requests to God.

Father, I know that you have in this control, and I trust you,

and I give you thanks for all that you're going to do.

Whether it turns out the way I think it should be or not, I know that you have it in the good for me.

We can have that rest. And the peace of God, it goes on to say,

which transcends, which supersedes all understanding, all knowledge,

all thinking that we can have, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Let me give you a little principle to follow in your life.

Okay if anything is worth worrying about then it is worth praying about and

if it's not worth praying about then it's not worth worrying about okay,

get that? Take a picture of that with your phone. Remember that.

If anything is worth worrying about, then it's worth praying about.

And if it's not worth praying about, then it's not worth worrying about.

In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus asked, who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

When did worrying solve anything?

And so you'll never find peace when your word is falling apart by worrying about

it. Instead, you should pray.

And then third, you will never find peace when your world is falling apart.

By dwelling on what's wrong with your situation, you must dwell on what's right

in the midst of your trouble.

We have a tendency as humans, we have a tendency as prosperous Americans to

dwell on the negatives, don't we?

And if that isn't the case, then why do we have so many people watch the news or read the newspapers.

Whatever the network is that we tune into or the major newspaper we read,

the first bit of information from the front page to the first 10 minutes on

TV is going to be negative about somebody or something.

In fact, it's gotten to be longer than 10 minutes because

negativity sells we like

negativity because it makes us feel better if somebody else is brought down

isn't that right and and what are the most popular tv shows today they are the

police shows depicting the crime and evil and stupidity in our world.

The truth is that we tend to be negative. When you talk to somebody about somebody

else, you usually don't talk about positive things. You usually talk about negative things, right?

When you're talking to somebody else about somebody else, you're usually gossiping or critical.

I mean, some of us have the spiritual gift of critical spirit.

That's not a very good spiritual gift, right?

I tell people I have the spiritual gift of cynicism. of my belief that if anything's

going to go wrong, it will.

But anyway, you have to plan for things, but yet we have this tendency to be

negative and to dwell on the negative.

Sit down at just about any breakfast table in any restaurant on any given morning,

and you will hear the men talking about how bad their boss is,

how terrible their company treats them, how their wives don't give them the

affection they deserve, and how their kids just don't understand that money doesn't grow on trees.

I've sat in the restaurant on mornings listening to the conversation,

and when I'm having a bad day or a bad week, and when my world is falling apart,

I can tell you what's wrong with everyone and everything else.

I can tell you what's wrong with my job. I can tell you what's wrong with the institutional church.

I can tell you what's wrong with the conference and the denomination.

Just just give me a chance to talk.

And I can tell you what's wrong with everything about any situation except...

What's wrong with me? Yes, there's a lot that's wrong about the world we live

in, but you'll never solve anything by talking about what's wrong.

Paul tells us to think about what is right. He reminds us that the next time

those negative thoughts come across our mind to replace them with what is right,

he says this, finally, brothers and sisters,

whatever is right, whatever is noble, whatever is true, whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy,

think about such things.

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me,

put it into practice, and the God of peace will be with you.

Negative thoughts will rob us of our peace if we allow them to stay and take root.

Instead, Paul tells us to replace them with right thoughts.

If we are focusing on Jesus, if we are not allowing worry to take cold,

if we are consumed with thinking the right thoughts, if we do all of this that

Paul wrote in Philippians 4, verse 8,

Philippians 4:8

Think about what's true, noble, right, righteous, pure, lovely,

admirable, excellent, praiseworthy.

If we are thinking on those things, do you think we have any time to think about negativity? Hmm.

Number four, you will never find peace when your world is falling apart by focusing on yourself.

You need to focus on being a blessing to others. What is the root of all worry?

What is the root of our lack of peace?

It is the overriding question that haunts us.

What is going to happen to me? Or how is this going to affect me? Will it hurt?

When you think about change in any organization, what do people think?

I don't want change because I might lose something.

We don't know what that is. We don't know if it's going to be better or worse.

How is this change going to affect my life?

You see, our worry and lack of peace really is based on selfishness.

And we all know, say it with me, the root of all sin is self.

Paul states that he has learned to be content whatever the situations and circumstances.

That doesn't mean that he's complacent and doesn't work for improvement.

That doesn't mean that he's willing to accept the status quo.

It means that he is willing to accept whatever situation he is in,

knowing that God is in it to work for the good of all those who are called according to his purpose.

Earlier, Paul stated that it was for their good, that meaning Philippians,

that he was writing this letter and that his imprisonment was for Christ's good.

Now, Paul, you've got to be kidding me.

Imprisonment is good for God? Well, if you want to break out of your spiritual

doldrums, then shift your focus away from what's in it for me to what can I

do for others and what can I do for God.

So the fourth thing, as we see, is you will never find peace when your world

is falling apart by focusing on yourself. The fifth one is this.

You will never find peace when your world is falling apart by relying on your own strength.

I hear people tell me all this time I can get through this by myself.

Well, in the words of the church lady on Saturday Night Live,

well, isn't that smash-all?

Remember that? How many of you old enough to remember that? Okay,

I see a lot of young people have no clue what I'm talking about.

Yep. So anyway, rugged individualism and machoism is the American way,

but it's not true, nor does it have to be that way.

You see, we are not created to go alone. We were created to live in community,

community with God and with each other.

And that's one of the things we celebrate when we take the Lord's Supper.

When we rely on our own strength to make it through, we have the strength of only one person.

But when we rely on community, we have synergy of all of the strength combined and even more.

If you take one person, he can maybe pull 500 pounds.

If you take two people, you can actually probably pull 1,000, 1,200.

If you get more than that, you

can pull even more than what the sum of the combination of all of you are.

And further still, when we rely on the strength of God Almighty,

we know that he will not be beaten.

I'm sure that if Tracy Lepard would have relied on God's strength rather than

her own to find peace in dealing with her world falling apart,

she would not have placed herself in the position of being found guilty of two

counts of second-degree attempted murder.

You may think that you can handle

your own mess, but the truth is you probably will only make it worse.

My wife loves it when I try to do some remodeling and stuff at home because

she knows after a point in time I'm going to have to hire somebody to do it right.

When one falls into a pit of quicksand, the worst thing they can do is to try

to fight their way out in their own strength.

All the thrashing and wriggling and wrestling will only cause them to be sucked in tighter.

The only thing they can do is call out for someone else to say to them,

someone who is outside of their pit of despair and destruction,

somebody who can come over to them and throw them a lifeline.

Friends, everyone is looking for peace, and most people are looking for peace

in every place but the right place.

Real peace is only found in a person, and his name is Jesus.