Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
There are buildings designed to survive nuclear weapon attacks, survive powerful hurricanes and tornados, survive extreme cold, and survive an assault from great armies. But, the best and most secure protection, to protect our “hearts and minds” from becoming overly anxious and fearful, is “Christ Jesus” our Lord and Savior. The teachings of “Christ Jesus” (found in the Word of God) both comfort and assure us that, as our Sovereign, Almighty “Good Shepherd” (John 10:11), He will never forsake us, for He loves us with “a great love” (Ephesians 2:4). The Psalmist expressed his faith in our “Good Shepherd” this way, “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.” (Psalms 28:7). Therefore, we are exhorted to “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” (Psalms 27:14)! He “shall strengthen” our “heart” so that we can face and endure our most awful troubles and have a sense of “peace” even in the very midst of the worst of our troubles. Our Lord told His Apostles, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)! This most blessed “peace of God” is so great and so effective that it “passeth all understanding”; that is, it is so amazingly wonderful that human language cannot fully express it and our human minds cannot comprehend the magnitude and glory of it. Knowing of this blessed “peace of God, which passeth all understanding” and that our Lord “shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”, we can rise above our troubles and joyfully go forward in service to our Lord. We can keep going; for, our Lord exhorts us to “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28). Knowing this to be absolutely true, I daily flee from anxiety and fear to the most peaceful “throne of grace”; for, it is only there “that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). The naturally strong have often declared that they have no need of such help, and they seem to do well until they come face to face with a heart-wrenching trouble that they cannot overcome; then, like the mighty Pharaoh, they will plea, “Intreat the LORD, that he may take away” this plague “from me, and from my people” (Exodus 8:8). We daily pray and read our Bibles and, on the Lord’s Day, go to and be a part of His Church; for, it is there that we worshipfully learn of our Lord’s “peace” and are greatly encouraged in it.