“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Phil. 4:7 (NIV)
We often desire peace, an elusive quality of life whenever we feel wrung out and frustrated by events that impact us in negative ways. What we have to realize is these times of stress may be God’s way of allowing us to grow closer to Him.
As we mature in the faith, we find ourselves not as prone to reacting to the elements designed to cause us uneasiness. This is a process and those around us might not understand what is happening in our lives.
God protects us as we live our daily lives and strengthens our hearts and minds
●How does he accomplish this? God speaks to us through His Word and the lives of others. The stories of the heroes of faith can guide us through times of uncertainty. The poetry of the Psalm provides us with comfort and wisdom. The stories of the ministry of Jesus lead us to a fuller understanding of Him and why He came to earth. The writings of Paul further explain the enigmatic parts of the Christian life.
●Why does God bother with us? Overall, we waffle back and forth between what He wants and what we want. Even when we sin, all we have to do is ask and He forgives. He created us. He nurtures us each day. He does this because He loves us and wants what is best for us.
●When does He guard our hearts? When we ask for His help, God acts according to our needs and protects us as we encounter life’s problems and the losses we sometimes endure. He speaks to us through the scriptures and as answers to our prayers. We receive thoughts and comfort that give us understanding from friends in the form of cards,phone calls, visits, or emails.
Hi Cecelia, I found you at Dakota's Blog in the comments and your comment sparked my visit! The name of your blog drew me - enjoyed your post today and was just speaking to a friend (and my Pastor) about how we don't always understand the trials but the otcome that leads us closer to knowing Him and trusting Him...well it is priceless and to be prized above all. Stop by sometime ! In His Grace, Dawn Wise words, Dakota! I must have missed this post but glad I went back through to catch up with my fellow blogger friends. I have just posted a Proverbs Challenge if anyone needs a creative jump start for their quiet time! So enjoy your posts! In His Grace, Dawn@
ReplyDeletehttp://beneaththesurface-dawn.blogspot.com/
Dawn:
ReplyDeleteThank you for your lovely note and for choosing to follow my blog. I post here on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Feel free to stop in when you can.
This is another one of my favorite scriptures. I like the breakdown you used here. As always, good food for thought!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Karen
I love that verse about peace, and need to rest more in His goodness. It all boils down to trust in Him vs. trust in ourselves or others, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteLove
Jen
Jeanette:
ReplyDeleteYes, it does. We have Solomon's words in Proverbs 3:5-6 to rely on. I'm so thankful for God's Word and his scribes.
Karen:
ReplyDeleteThank you. I am trying different formats to break up the text and to highlight certain points. God's messages to us are marvelous and we should study them and incorporate them into our lives. That way we model Christ before those around us.