October 3, 2007 - Support The Troops Within Your Heart

Durruck

Pirate!
Support The Troops Within Your Heart
By Jon Walker

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7 (NIV)

If you lived in a frontier town constantly harassed by raiding parties from an enemy, one option for your military would be to send troops to actually live beside you. These troops would be ‘garrisoned’ to your town, and their presence would not only provide protection during an attack; they, hopefully, would dissuade the enemy from even launching any more attacks.

This is the implication of Paul’s language in this passage; that the peace of God will be garrisoned within your heart and mind, providing an ever-present protection from within as opposed to the need to stressfully search the horizon for the Calvary to arrive just in the nick of time.

God’s peace and presence is closer than a brother, not a mental state reached by working yourself into it, rather a Spirit of Peace that mingles and indwells your heart and mind, protecting you even as it heals the wounds that bleed both worry and fear into your life.

It is a peace that passes all understanding because it is God-powered and Spirit-connected: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” Romans 5:1-2 (NIV)

Consider it this way – Jesus became flesh and made his dwelling among us (John 1:1-14), and through his death and resurrection, his Spirit now dwells within us. And the fruit of his Spirit is, among other things, peace (Galatians 5:22-23, NIV).

We do not make this peace; we receive it and believe it.

What now –

· Everything for good – You can be at peace, knowing that God is working all things out for your good, according to his glory (Romans 8:28). What worry do you have where you think things are not working out? Perhaps, thinking they’ve slipped out of God’s control? Take that worry to God and ask him what he thinks about it.

· Plans for good – You can be at peace, knowing that God’s plans for you are good, designed to help you heal (Jeremiah 29:11). Is there a part of your life where you think things are irrevocably ruined? You’re even wondering if God knows what he’s doing? Talk to God directly about this, and explain to him why your thoughts and plans are better (We often think that, so why not be direct with God?)

· Things above – You can be at peace when you “set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Colossians 3:2, NKJV) We must learn to think like God and not like mere men and women. Think about the worst situation in your life – How would you think about it differently if you could access God’s [perspective?

· The fruit of peace – As you allow the Spirit to work within your heart and mind, the fruit of peace will bloom there and spread throughout your life. What do you think are the characteristics of ‘peace-fruit?’

© 2007 Jon Walker. All rights reserved.


The above content is provided in its entirety from purposedrivenlife.com and used with the full permission of the website. Additional archives of the Purpose Driven Life devotionals can be found in their archive.
 
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