Philippians 4:6-9
Verse 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Today we look at the next fruit on our list of Fruit of the Spirit – Peace.
This peace isn’t the kind of peace that is talked about in our world today, wishing everyone would get along and that war would not be a reality. Notice that our key verse says the “peace of God” not the peace of men. So what kind of peace does God have? Paul said that His peace is beyond our understanding. If it isn’t something that we can understand, then how are we to know if we are having our hearts and minds guarded by it?
The peace of God is something that is beyond our understanding because we have limited natures. God has peace because there is nothing that is outside of His control. He knows all and sees all.
That is what takes our peace of mind away, isn’t it? When we don’t know the outcome of what is in front of us or when we can only think about the bad things that may happen we tend to get our innards in a knot. But God doesn’t have that issue. He already knows what will happen and how He is going to use it. That is why Paul pointed out in the following verse the things He wants us to set our focus on. That is the key, isn’t it? If we are looking at things that are stable we can find our footing in Christ but if we continue looking at the things around us that are in a turmoil, it only makes sense that we lose our sense of peace and start to waver.
We aren’t to worry about anything – that says we don’t trust God – instead we are to pray about everything – turn our focus on God and His being more capable than we are. We need to tell Him what we need and thank Him for all He has done. This is how we reset our focus.
When our focus is turned from what is around us that concerns us, to the One who is above all and has our best interest in mind and knows what will bring Him the greatest glory, how can we not be flooded with the peace that doesn’t make sense to us? We feel His peace when He is our focus. When we put these things into practice, we find this peace, His peace, being a part of our lives that others will see as fruit of our relationship with Him and He will get the praise.
Making It Personal
Where are places in your life that you lack peace? Is it hard to trust God in those places? Can you make the choice today to look to Him and follow the steps to His peace?
Making It Personal Kids
What do you think peace of mind means? Do you have peace of mind? If you don’t, pray and ask God to help you get His peace.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank You for the peace that we can’t understand but that we can feel when we are totally resting in You and Your ways. Help us to live in Your peace so that others will be drawn to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
留言