GOD’S PEACE FOLLOWS POSITIVE CHOICES

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

“In Philippians 4:7 we see God’s part in the contentment process: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” The Living Bible suggests that the word AND at the beginning of the verse means “if you do this.” Do what? If we make the choice to pray instead of worry, we will personally experience God’s peace. What a promise! In a world of chaos, problems, heartache, and anxiety, all of us need peace.

…Remember, God says HIS PEACE follows OUR CHOICES…

My favourite translation of this verse is “And the peace of God which transcends all our powers of thought will be a garrison to guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” I visualize God encircling me with a garrison of angels whose job it is to help my…mind and heart…God’s peace is the exact prescription needed for my anxiety-ridden heart and mind…

Paul comes back to our part in verse 8: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things” (Philippians 4:8)…

Proverbs 23:7 says, “As he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (KJV). The writer and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson put it this way: “Beware of what you dwell on for that you shall surely become.” How convicting! We become what we think. Our thought life – not our circumstances – determines whether we are content. Our thought life – not our friends, husband, children, job, or anything else – determines our contentment!

Scripture commands us to fix our minds on the positive and also to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5)…We must take control of our mind. We are commanded to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). We renew our minds when we take negative thoughts captive and dwell on the positive.

In verse 9, Paul combined our part and God’s part. “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9).

…Paul instructs us to practice “these things.” What things?

♣ Choosing to give our anxieties to God
♣ Choosing to pray specifically
♣ Choosing to be thankful
♣ Choosing to dwell on the positive

We are to practice substituting prayer for worry, the positive for the negative – and the God of peace will be with us! ...we see that the peace of God follows a choice to obey. This was Paul’s process, the path he walked in order to learn contentment.”