Philippians 4:7 - The Peace of God Will Guard Your Hearts and Your Minds In Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7 (NIV) And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding, will guard
your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7 (NLT) Then you will
experience Gods peace, which exceeds anything we can
understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds
as you live in Christ Jesus.
WORD STUDY
Peace
Some realities cannot be fully conveyed
by dictionary definition " the peace of God,
for instance. We could read books about it, but
somehow never totally understand it. Paul knew the
shortcomings of words to describe Gods peace, so he
just admitted that it transcends our human
knowledge.
How do you find this peace? First, it is
found only in Jesus Christ. Trust him as your
Savior and Lord. Second, Gods peace is attained
only by practice. Trust Jesus daily in the small
worries of your life so that youre ready to trust
him when big problems strike. Tell him your
needs and anxieties. Third, you can have peace
only through prayer and meditation on Gods
promises. Have you discovered Gods Word? Have you
prayed through the promises? There is no better
time to start than today. And there is no smarter
way to invest the first moments of your morning.
(Life Application Commentary)
INTRODUCTION
Let Gods peace guard your heart against
anxiety and stress. Gods peace can replace worry.
Gods peace is different from the worlds peace
(see John 14:27). True peace is not found in
positive thinking, in absence of conflict, or in good
feelings. It comes from knowing that God is in
control. [Life Application SB]
Stress is often self-inflicted by our choice
of thought material. What we put into our mind
determines what comes out in our words and actions.
Paul tells us to program our mind with thoughts
that are true, good, right, pure, lovely,
admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. Do you have
problems with impure thoughts and daydreams? Examine
what you are putting into your mind through
television, books, conversations, movies, and magazines.
Replace harmful input with wholesome material. Above
all, read Gods Word and pray. Ask God to help
you focus your mind on what is good and pure. It
takes practice, but it can be done. [Life
Application SB]
COMMENTARY PEARL
Could you use some calm? If so, you
aren't alone. The Bible is Kindle's most
highlighted book. And Philippians 4:6-7 is the most
highlighted passage. Apparently we all could use a word
of comfort.
God is ready to give it.
With God as your helper, you will sleep
better tonight and smile more tomorrow. You'll
learn how to view bad news through the lens of
sovereignty, discern the lies of Satan, and tell yourself
the truth. You will discover a life that is
characterized by calm.
It will require some work on your part.
Anxiety cannot be waved away with a simple pep talk.
In fact, for some of you God's healing will
include the help of therapy and/or medication. Ask
God to lead you to the treatment you need.
This much is sure: God made you for more
than a life of mind-splitting worry. He has a new
chapter for your life. And he is ready to write it.
[You Can Count On God by Max Lucado]
COMMENTARY
Americans are more stressed than ever. A
2017 American Psychological Association Stress
in America Survey showed that those polled
were more stressed about the countrys future
than at any time in the surveys 10-year
history.
And our stress is deadly. As of June
2018, suicide rates in the US are up 30 percent
since 1999.
If weve ever needed Gods
stress-free guarantee, its today.
The Bible shares Gods guarantee in
Philippians 4:7, where it says, If you do this, you
will experience Gods peace, which is far more
wonderful than the human mind can understand
(TLB).
This isnt a stress guarantee from a
doctor. Its not a guarantee from a pharmaceutical
company.
Its so much better. Its a guarantee
from the Creator of the universe.
Wouldnt you like to have your thoughts
be quiet and your heart at rest as you trust in
Jesus?
Imagine youre in a situation where you
have no logical reason to be at peace - but you
are.
Sounds pretty good, right?
Thats Gods guarantee. Thats
Gods promise.
There are more than 5,000 promises in the
Bible, and every one of them has a premise. Every
promise has a premise.
There is a premise behind Gods stress
guarantee, too. The verse from Philippians 4 begins
with, If you do this.
Let this sink in a bit. It is possible to
experience Gods peace, which is far more wonderful
than the human mind can understand.
Stress doesnt have to win. Anxiety
doesnt need to control you.
There is hope. [Daily Devotional by Rick
Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
Think It Over
Here's another promise many try to claim
without the condition. "God has offered me
His peace, and I'm claiming it now. After all,
Philippians 4:7 promises,
And the peace of God, which surpasses all
comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus."
But such peace escapes you as you
continue to be besieged by worry and fear.
Why? Because peace isn't dropped in a
bundle from heaven by parachute. Peace is a
byproduct - the promised result following our
fulfilling our part of the process. And what is that?
When answering such questions, always go
back to the context in which you found the
promise, in this case Philippians 4. Notice that just
before the promise of peace is the condition on
which that promise is based:
"Be anxious for nothing [in other words,
stop worrying about anything], but in everything
by prayer and supplication [in addition, start
praying about everything] with thanksgiving [and
don't forget to be thankful in all things] let
your requests be made known to God. And
The equation would look like this:
Absence of worry + Prevalence of prayer +
Spirit of gratitude = Peace of God
Don't be afraid of God's not keeping His
promises. He has and He will continue to do so. But
make an intelligent and careful study of the
one(s) you choose to claim. Be certain they are
rightfully yours. [Chuck Swindoll www.insight.org.]
Right Thinking and Praying
If you want to overcome worry, it starts
with right praying.
The apostle Paul wrote, Dont worry
about anything; instead, pray about everything.
Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he
has done. Then you will experience Gods
peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.
His peace will guard your hearts and minds as
you live in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7
NLT).
Paul used a military term for the word
guard. He was saying, Gods peace will stand
guard around your heart and protect you. So
when your mind is flooded with worry, you can
say, Lord, I cast all of my care upon You
because Your Word tells me that You care for me, and
Your peace will guard my heart and mind.
Gods peace will stand guard over the
two areas of your life that cause worry: the
heart, which represents our emotions and feeling,
and the mind, which refers to our thinking.
Not only do we need right praying, but we
also need right thinking. Paul went on to say,
Fix your thoughts on what is true, and
honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and
admirable. Think about things that are excellent and
worthy of praise (verse 8 NLT).
The Message puts it this way: Summing
it all up, friends, Id say youll do best
by filling your minds and meditating on things
true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling,
gracious - the best, not the worst; the beautiful,
not the ugly; things to praise, not things to
curse (MSG).
What we think about ultimately affects
what we do, so we need to remind ourselves of
what is true. We all will have moments of
despair, lapses of faith, and times in our lives when
we don't understand what is going on. Thats
why we need to turn to the word of God.
When we pray instead of worry and rejoice
instead of panic, we will have peace. [Greg Laurie
from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com]
CLOSING THOUGHT
Divinely Redirected
God sometimes will use different ways to
show us when we are out of His will. One is by
giving us His peace when we are in His will and
removing it when we are outside of it. The Bible
tells us, "Let the peace that comes from Christ
rule in your hearts" (Colossians 3:15, NLT).
Another translation says, "And let the peace (soul
harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire
continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with
finality all questions that arise in your minds, in
that peaceful state]" (AMP).
Umpires aren't always the most popular
people at baseball games because not everyone
agrees with the calls they make. The umpire is
there to say, "Safe!" and "Out!" The peace of God
can act as a spiritual umpire. Perhaps you can
think of certain situations, such as a party you
went to, a relationship you were involved in, or
a place you were going, and suddenly there was
a lack of peace, almost like spiritual
agitation deep inside. That might have been God saying
no.
Another way the Lord sometimes directs us
is by closing a door. By that I mean, there are
situations in our lives when circumstances just don't
work. Maybe you set out on a big trip, only to get
three flat tires. You were trying to do a certain
thing when something went wrong, rendering your
plan impossible.
Sometimes God can even redirect us
through sickness. It has stopped me on a few
occasions. However it is that the Lord may direct you,
remember that it maybe in a different way than you
wanted to go. But God has His will. And God has His
timing. [Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
Philippians 4:6-7 - Peace Beyond
Understanding.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2019/20190511-1519.html
Philippians 4:6-8 - CURE FOR ANXIETY AND
WORRY.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220624-0817.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
