Thursday, March 5, 2009

Philippians 4:7

After suggesting that we should be seeking God for revelations about what our deeply rooted core concerns are, Paul writes in Philippians 4:7 to tell about the effect prayer and presenting our requests to God will have on us.
Phil 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
God's peace - The gospel of John demonstrates several instances where Jesus showed back up to the disciples after the resurrection. Verse 19 says the disciples were gathered together with the doors locks and Jesus appeared to them and said, "Peace be with you!" Again, in verse 21, His message was "Peace be with you!" His words were straight and to the point. It reminds me of a state of mind I was in after my favorite sports team won a championship. In January of 2007, I was down in Gainesville to experience the Gators' National Championship win over the Buckeyes. After the game my friends and I joined the entire city in the main streets of the town to rejoice in the fact that our team had done it! We were singing and dancing through the streets. It was a moment of awe. Everyone was short for words, but jubilant. It was wonderful. The anxiety of a season where teams were constantly trying to knock the Gators off had finally been released. We experienced peace in our minds. Jesus' message was PEACE BE WITH YOU!! He was talking to a group of disciples who were under serious emotional turmoil to the point where they locked themselves together in a room for fear of the Jews. Jesus brings peace.
Let God guard your heart - the deep rooted concerns that we have are in our hearts and minds. This gets back to the point I made yesterday about anxiety being the sum of all of the distractions away from God. What are we truly worried about? What are we asking God. This verse says to ask God to stand guard over our hearts and minds. Not to stand guard over our jobs, relationships, family, cars, health, etc. Sure it is important to ask God for every specific request, but we should be more focused on trusting that God has the Kingdom's best interest at hand and that we should be calm and comforatable in whatever His plan is. We should ask God to ease our hearts and minds so that we do not get hurt by the circumstances around us. We just need to know that God will not forsake us. He will never leave us. AMEN!
I'll end with this promise that God gives His beloved children: Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
Have a peaceful day!

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