Devotions based on week 10 of Joy in the Journey: Joy (WATCH HERE)
Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
“I just can’t explain it.”
“It’s hard to put in words.”
“I feel at peace, even though my circumstances are crazy.”
When Jesus sat with his disciples the night before he went to the cross, he said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).
The peace of God is the gift of a right status with God. The division that sin creates has been done away with by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. When I know the biggest problem my heart could ever tackle is solved at the cross, my soul can be at peace.
Remember this section of Philippians started off with the direction to “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Paul then reminds us to “Let our gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” He then encourages us to offload our anxiety to the Lord in prayer.
So what remains when the Lord fills our heart with joy, we know that the LORD is with us and we get to live each day to his glory and that whenever we have anxiety we can offload it to God?
Peace.
You can’t explain it. You can’t diagram it. You can’t even fully understand it.
It is a gift from God that God only knows, but gives us to experience.
But it does something even greater than settling our soul.
It is given as a gift to “guard your hearts and your minds.”
It guards our hearts from being disrupted by events around us. It guards our hearts from experiencing the roller coaster of emotions connected with hardship or tragedy. It guards our hearts from drifting our loyalty to something that appears to give peace, but really can’t.
It guards our minds into thinking negatively about ourselves or others. It guards our minds from the lies of Satan that disrupt our peace. It guards our minds from allowing doubt and uncertainty to creep in.
Peace is the thick wall that the Spirit builds around our hearts and our minds to ensure that the love, grace and goodness of Christ are always deeply engrained in our way of believing and way of thinking.
So how do you get this peace?
It comes from God and is rooted in Christ Jesus.
Peace is the result of growing deeper in our connection to the LORD through his Word. Peace is the reality when our identity, value, and purpose are wrapped up in the grace of God found in Jesus Christ. The more time we spend with our Savior, the more opportunity for God’s peace to build itself in our hearts and minds.
When you lack peace?
Don’t focus on just changing your external circumstances. Give the Spirit of God an opportunity to work inside you. Spend time in the Word. Spend time in prayer. Offload the anxiety. Remember the Lord is near.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Apply: Is your heart at peace this morning? What is attacking it? Spend time with the Lord in his Word and prayer…and experience God bring you his peace.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the peace you give, which I don’t understand, but I experience in a very real way! AMEN.