IfYouGiveAMindensenABlog

Do you ever get the feeling like a passage of scripture is ‘following’ you…I do…and if you haven’t noticed it is Philippians 4:6-7…

Today, verse 7 is what sticks out…“And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”

Did you know that the actual word guard in the original Greek literally means “to guard, protect by military guard, either to prevent hostile invasion, or to keep the inhabitants of a besieged city from flight”?

So, when God says that his peace will GUARD us, he means just that. His peace WILL guard us from hostile attacks on our hearts and our minds. However, there are some important things to remember.

One, flip back a book to the end of Ephesians and there you will see a reminder that ‘our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’. As much as it is easy to feel like our hearts (and minds) are being attacked by other people, we need to remember that ultimately we are living in a spiritual battle, where every decision is a decision for either spiritual life or death.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20a says, “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live, and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life…”

The second thing to remember is that it is the PEACE of God which does the protecting, and it’s a personal CHOICE whether or not you have it. Going up to verse 6, it talks about OUR responsibility to present our requests to God AND to not be anxious. It’s only then, when we focus on God and stop worrying that we have PEACE, and it’s that PEACE that guards our hearts and our minds.

Another passage that generally comes back up in my life, that relates to this topic is Matthew 6:33-34 which says, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

God is GOOD! ♥