Of Peace and Thankfulness

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, For in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength.” Isaiah 26:3-4

As I read through Scripture I am impressed how often Christians are commanded to be at peace, to not fear, and/or to not be anxious. Considering how tough life can be at times, with how others treat us and how our own sin negatively affects us, it seems an impossible request to be at peace at all times or even much of the time. More often we are weighed down by worries and cares that we were never meant to carry and indeed cannot successfully carry. The solution is to place our cares on and trust in God our Abba Father. We can be in perfect peace if our mind is stayed upon Him because He will keep us there. We need to be often in the Word of God and always in a prayerful state, making our supplications known to God, and then the peace which transcends all understanding will remove fear and anxiousness, He will guard our mind. “Guard” in the original translates a military term which means “to protect or garrison by guarding”. If our mind is stayed on Jehovah He will garrison it himself and keep it in perfect peace.

I am also struck by how often Paul, in his writings, calls us to be thankful in whatever circumstances we may face and this seems to be often associated with a peaceful mind. Colossians 3:15 tells us to “let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts… And be thankful”. Doctors have long understood that a cheerful, thankful attitude of mind is beneficial for the body. Thankfulness, however, is a grace to be cultivated. We are responsible to be thankful. Despite any adverse circumstances in our life we all have much to be thankful for. Our salvation alone, as Believers, along with all we have in Christ should cause us great rejoicing and thankfulness every day. Like Israel in Deuteronomy 33:29 we should recognize that we are a people saved by the Lord, the shield of our help, and the sword of our triumph! He is our everlasting strength.