A key to guarding your heart and mind is peace

A key to guarding your heart and mind is peace. I think we can all agree that peace is something we long for and wouldn’t mind having in every situation we face in life.  And not the ordinary kind of peace but the peace that Jesus clearly had when he slept through the storm on the boat that had his disciples who were seasoned fishermen scared to death. The peace that Peter clearly experienced as he slept in prison that the Angel had to shake him awake on the day of his rescue. The peace that David had when he went to face the giant Goliath who was described as ‘whenever the Israelites saw the man they fled from him in great fear‘. So we want the kind of peace that does not entertain fear in fact it chases fear away.

The peace of God

According to Philippians 4:6-7 this is the peace of God that transcends all understanding. We obtain this peace by not giving in to anxiety. Instead we go down on our knees, pray and petition God. Therefore we are encouraged to make our requests and this requests have not been qualified. But a rule of thumb it is should be aligned to the will of God. These requested should be peppered with thanksgiving. Why with thanksgiving? This is because it is hard to say thank you if you do not believe you have received something. This is the outward expression of your faith that you pray, you believe you have received and then you thank God.

Guarding your heart and mind

One of the direct benefits of the peace of God is that it guards our hearts and minds. Our hearts and minds are susceptible to emotions and thoughts both positive and negative. What the peace of God does is inspite of what is going on in your mind. And inspite of how you feel you can continue to believe in your victory, in your ability to overcome. This kind of thinking is what gets you to the finish line. This is what gets you to the place of triumph. I for one would like to be at the place of victory, to know that the odds are already rigged in my favour. Everyone of us can be assured of this truth by belonging to the kingdom of God. All it takes is receiving the free gift of salvation.