Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has issued a challenge to himself and to his followers. Wilson, who was named Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year in 2020, said that while it is easy to be anxious about the cares of life, we need to remember that true peace is found in God and that it comes through reading the Bible.
“A lot of times, we’re trying to find the peace of ‘me,’ the peace of ‘you,’ the peace of ‘us,’ said Wilson in an Aug. 17 video he posted to Instagram and Twitter. “Well, the Scripture says in Philippians 4:7 it’s the ‘peace of God’—the peace of God—‘that transcends all understanding.’ That’s the kind of peace that I want to have.”
Russell Wilson: Pursue God’s Peace
“Ya’ll ever go to bed and you’re tossing and turning, you can’t sleep, you’re mind’s running, all these different things…whatever it may be, and you can’t find that peace?” asked Russell Wilson. Philippians 4:7 gives us direction regarding what to do in that situation. For some context for that verse, Philippians 4:4-9 says:
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.
It is easy for us to forget the true source of peace, said Wilson. “A lot of times what happens is we run our own thoughts, our own ideas, we’re constantly thinking about what we want to do, how we want to fix it, how we want to handle this, how we want to do that and—how about God? How about Jesus? What would he do?”
The key to answering those questions and to finding peace is reading the Bible. Said Wilson, “I think the biggest thing we have to connect to is the promise of God, actually reading the Scripture, understanding what he wants for us, understanding what he wants for me. And I know for me personally, that’s what I’ve been working on: not trying to find my own peace, but God, I want your peace.” He said, “I challenge us to try to search for that.”
