2020-1-17 “the peace of God”

Philippians 4:7  “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

This “peace” that “shall keep” our “hearts and minds” is “the peace of God”, not “peace” that we make ourselves; but it is “the peace of God” that indwells us by the Spirit of God.  Children of God are endowed with this blessed “peace” from the moment they are given Spiritual Birth (John 3:1-8).  This blessed “peace of God” “passeth all understanding”; that is, it stills and calms our “hearts and minds”, even in the very midst of this world’s greatest tragedies, heart breaks, disappointments, tribulations, illnesses, etc.  It defies human “understanding” because it cannot otherwise be explained.  Others observe and marvel at our outward calmness, even as stormy troubles rage around us.  This blessed calmness, comes from our God-given inward “peace”.  Some may even ask, how can you be so calm in the middle of such trouble.  The answer is, “the peace of God” is keeping my heart and mind!  To “keep” our “hearts and minds” is to guard and protect our “hearts and minds” from overwhelming distress.  Only “God” Himself can so surely “keep” our “hearts and minds”!  However, sometimes we need to be reminded of our God’s keeping power.  The Lord told the disciples of John the Baptist to “Go and shew John again” (Matthew 11:4); that is, remind and reassure him.  The Lord Commands, “stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD” (Exodus 14:13) and “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10).  And, we are told “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” (Isaiah 26:3).  Sometimes, we need to be shown again the mighty love and works of God.  When we are in the midst of some great trouble, we must “stand still”, “be still”, and stay our minds on the Lord our Almighty God.