Daily devotion – The peace of God.
Phl 4:7
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Paul teaches us to not worry about anything but pray about everything!
Most of us however are prone to pray about the big things in life – such as a diagnosis of serious illness that has no cure. But we have a habit of forgetting to pray about the so called ‘little things’, until they grow and become big things!
Paul says, talking to God about everything is the first step toward victory over worry. The result is that the ‘peace of God’ then guards your heart and mind. You will remember that Paul was chained to a Roman soldier, guarded day and night, when he was imprisoned for his faith in Jesus Christ. So too, in like manner, ‘the peace of God’, stands guard over the two areas that create worry in our lives – our hearts (wrong feelings), and our minds (wrong thoughts or thinking).
But when we give our hearts to Christ in salvation, we experience the ‘peace of God’ – Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
But the peace of God takes us a step farther into His blessings.
We will still face trials and storms, but we have a quiet confidence within, regardless of circumstances, people and things.
Remember Daniel, when the king declared it was against the law of the Medes and the Persians to pray to anyone except the king, Daniel still went to his room as was his habit, opened his window and prayed just like every other day previously. Daniel prayed and gave thanks to God – Daniel 6:10.
Daniel had perfect peace in the midst of great difficulty.
Peace in our lives involves our heart and mind – Isa 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Wrong thinking leads to wrong feeling, and before long our hearts and minds are pulled apart and our lives are strangled by worry.
May you experience the peace of God in your lives this week!