And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7, NIV)
It’s relatively easy to enjoy a casual round of golf when there is not much at stake. We can swing away, and if something bad happens, we can laugh it off and move on to the next shot. It’s altogether different if there is something on the line like winning a match or a tournament. One bad shot can make us lose our focus as we become fearful about what will happen next. Anxiety and fear take the place of peace, and we lose the joy that allows us to play well.
To find peace in our world today is one of our greatest challenges as believers in Jesus. To live in peace is to live with freedom from disturbance. What kinds of things disturb us? We can discern these disturbances by the way they make us feel. When we are afraid, worried about the future, or in a state of uncertainty, we are not at peace. One of the great gifts of God that he wants to bestow on us is his peace. He is not afraid, worried about the future, or ever in a state of uncertainty. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and full of love and compassion. He never loses his peace. If God himself offers us his peace as our scripture verse for today describes, why are we so often disturbed? What makes us lose our peace?
The answer to that question comes in the very next verse in Philippians 4. The apostle Paul shows us how, at the end of the day, our peace is dependent on our thoughts. Paul encourages us to think about whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—excellent or praiseworthy. He says we should be thinking about these things.
While the gift of God’s incomprehensible peace is available to us to guard our hearts and minds in Jesus Christ, that peace depends on what we are thinking. If we allow our thoughts to be ruled by the deceiver, Satan, he will be able to accomplish what he wants. He can disturb our peace if we let him dominate our thoughts. If we look around and only think about or see the sinking ship, we rightfully should be disturbed. But if we look beyond the ship to the One who holds us up, we can find God’s kind of peace and live an undisturbed life in a world that struggles to find peace.
Our thinking should be focused on the things of God—things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. There is no room for disturbance if our minds are filled with thoughts that are consistent with who God is.
We can have a heart and mind that is protected from fear and doubt if we use our mind to concentrate on the life we have in Jesus. We have the opportunity to live an undisturbed life of peace and joy. The world cannot comprehend this kind of life, but it is God’s promise to us. Let’s capture our thoughts and focus them on what we know is noble and true. If we would do that every time we pick up a golf club, I suspect we would all have better scores.
Prayer—Father, help us to focus on the things that will promote your kind of peace in our life.