And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7
This peace surpasses every thought.
It guards my heart.
It guards my mind.
The word “guard” in this context means, “to protect by a military guard to prevent hostile invasion; to protect with troops stationed in a fortress or town to defend it; to hem in, to protect.”
God’s peace is incomprehensible, and it is compared to a military guard that actually protects our hearts and minds from hostile invasion. His peace guards our vulnerable hearts and minds— the very places that the enemy wants to strike. This is where his fiery arrows are aimed, because that’s where he knows he can take us down.
We must have God’s protection over our hearts and minds. We are up against a real, skilled, and dangerous enemy who is determined to invade, destroy, and kill us.
How can we ensure that we are safeguarded by this militant peace that protects us from such attacks? How can we rely on God’s peace to defend us from assaults on our most vulnerable areas: our minds, which are bombarded with lies, and our hearts, which are wounded by flaming arrows of despair?
Let’s back up a few verses to gain further understanding.
Philippians 4:4-6 says this: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
According to these verses, here’s what we are called to do:
- Rejoice in the Lord. If you weren’t sure you heard it right, Paul repeats it for good measure… Rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in His goodness, His mercy, and His faithfulness!
- Let everyone around you see your gentle spirit—your patience and mild manner. Another translation calls this “our reasonableness.” Why is this important? Because a gentle, patient spirit—rather than an anxious, impatient, argumentative spirit— not only reflects Christ but also rests in His faithfulness. We must live in a way that the world sees Christ in us.
- Know that the return of Christ is real and it is soon. And—He is near to us right now! If you are a Christ-follower, His Spirit lives within you, and one day, He will return to take you home. He is near—this we can be, and must be, sure of.
- Do not be anxious about anything. It literally means be anxious about absolutely no one… no thing… not one single thing. I think we often see this as a suggestion not to worry, but it’s stated here as a command. God’s Word says, do not be anxious about one single thing, or even about one single person. I have four kids, and I completely understand this last part. Trade anxiety over _____________for thankful prayer. Prayer is always more effective than anxiety.
- Pray about everything. Everything means, well, everything! Big things. Small things. In between mundane things. ALL THINGS. God is inviting us into a relationship through an ongoing dialogue with Him about everything in our lives. He wants us to lay all of our cares at His feet, and to do so with a heart of thanksgiving, which keeps us from whiny, self-centered prayers. When we “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name,” as Psalm 100:4 says, all things are put into right perspective. We remember Who it is that we are approaching, and we remember all that He has done for us. We remember redemption, we remember the blood that Christ shed on our behalf, even while we were still sinners. We remember the grace and mercy that we don’t deserve, given freely to us through His Son. We remember that God is God.
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
The mighty and powerful peace of our heavenly Father protects those places that He also inhabits. His dwelling place, our heart and mind, is safe from all the raging forces of hell. The mighty peace of Jesus within us rebukes all of the powers that darkness can unleash with military force, fiercely defending His beloved ones. We face a skilled enemy, but in Christ, victory is ours, and it is already secured. Instead of hearts and minds filled with anxiety and fear, we are filled with the peace of God that exceeds anything that we can understand.
“The result of believing prayer is that the peace of God will stand like a sentinel on guard upon our hearts.” ~William Barclay
Rejoice in Him. Let everyone see how you rest in Him—how you trust in Him. Live in a way that others see Christ in you. Know that He is near: He is close to you now, and His return is near. Replace anxiety with trust in Him. Pray about all things, and pray with thanksgiving, reminding yourself of who God is, all that He has done, and all that He has promised to do. Live in relationship with your Creator.
His peace surpasses our understanding! We cannot produce the peace that God gives—it’s not in medication, escapism, or any of the ways we think we can find it. His peace can’t be fully understood—it doesn’t make sense—and that’s exactly how we can recognize it as God’s peace. It washes over us during life’s storms when we least expect it; it calms us when we might feel justified in fear, worry, or resentment. His peace appears when the world is watching, so we can testify and proclaim the name of Christ, the Light in the Dark, the Anchor in our storm—our Peace.
What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!What a Friend We Have in Jesus | Joseph M. Scriven
Blessings,
~Nicole
Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His presence continually!
Psalm 105:4
Nicole Dotson 