Philippians 4:7; The Prince of Peace II

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Picking up where we left off last week; how does the peace of God guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus?  Let’s take a look.

When a challenging issue crops up, we have two choices: take it to God or don’t take it to God.  Let’s start with what happens when we deal with things apart from God.  You probably know this already, but when we face struggles, the enemy sees an opportunity to attack. It can go something like this:

“Wow, this area of your life is really tough, why not focus on other things for a while? School, friends, entertainment, anything will do.”  And you ignore the problem instead of dealing with it.

Then he says, “Hmmm…it isn’t getting better. Why isn’t anyone helping you?” You start to doubt your friends and family.  Anger walks in. 

And then he says, “No one is helping you because no one cares for you.”  Self-pity and fear creep in. 

And then he says, “It’s probably not going to get better and you know what?  Try this, it will actually make you feel better!”  And maybe you do – and maybe you do feel better for a short time, but the issue comes right back, worse than before.  Resignation enters and possibly addiction too. 

And then he says, “You are a mess!  No way God would ever love anyone like you.”  Despair sets in.  Your heart and mind have been compromised and peace is beyond comprehension.

Does that scenario sound familiar?  The enemy is more cunning than we can imagine and his goal is to DESTROY you!  He will not play fair or follow the rules.  That is why we so desperately need the peace of God to guard our hearts and minds.  What does that look like? 

How about this?  A challenge arises and you take it directly to God.  Whenever worry or anxiety or frustration comes in, you use it as a reminder to give that situation over to God.  And every time you do that, you thank God for His grace and faithfulness. You begin to realize that the more you focus on Jesus, the more at peace you feel. 

Your situation might not be any better, but YOU are better.  You have a sense that things are going to be okay, even if things are really tough.  And your heart and mind are protected because you are focused on Jesus which leaves no room for the enemy to attack.

Jesus says, “In this world you will have trouble.”  If trouble isn’t already here, it’s coming.  But He also says, “Take heart for I have overcome the world.”  Jesus doesn’t say that He will immediately fix all your troubles; it is often those very troubles that drive us to Him. 

And it is then that we learn how to live a faithful life in the midst of troubles which is where the peace that passes understanding resides.  And that is much more valuable than just having your troubles disappear.  Because like it or not, more troubles are coming – Jesus empowers us to overcome!

I won’t say that keeping your eyes on Jesus during a trial is easy, but it is the only way you will have peace consistently in your life.  And that is well worth the effort!

“God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there.  There is no such thing.” – CS Lewis