Peace That Guards
October 19
Peace That Guards
Matthew (Tolu) Olowoyeye
Founder · The Berean
Philippians 4:7
and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
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Paul has just told the anxious to bring everything to God in prayer with thanksgiving; here is the promised result: the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds. This peace is described in two remarkable ways. First, it "surpasses all understanding", it does not depend on our circumstances making sense, and it cannot be fully explained; it is a peace that settles on the heart even when the situation gives no rational ground for calm. Second, it "guards", the word is military, picturing a garrison of soldiers stationed to protect a city. God's peace stands sentry over our hearts and minds.
That image is worth holding. Our hearts (our emotions) and minds (our thoughts) are exactly where anxiety attacks, the heart with its fears, the mind with its racing what-ifs. And God promises to post His peace as a guard at both gates, keeping watch over the very places worry tries to invade. This peace is not the absence of trouble around us but the presence of a garrison within us, "through Christ Jesus." It is His gift to those who bring their cares to Him.
Bring your anxieties to God in prayer today, and receive the promised guard: His peace, beyond understanding, stationed over your heart and mind.
Take Into The Day
After you pray about a worry today, consciously receive the promised peace as a guard posted over your heart and mind. When the anxious thought tries to return, picture it meeting that garrison, the peace of God standing watch through Christ.
Prayer
Father, when I bring my anxieties to You with thanksgiving, You promise a peace beyond understanding to guard my heart and mind in Christ. Post that guard over me today. Where worry attacks my thoughts and feelings, let Your peace stand sentry. Amen.
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