Protection...
Reading through Philippians 4 today, and here’s what I journaled… maybe it will bless you today too.
In a world full of struggles, strife, and all kinds of trials, can we really have peace and even joy in all circumstances? Is it possible to feel protection when everything around us may be against us?
I think David and Paul encourage us in this, and are examples of this peace that passes all understanding, but we may still wonder about this kind of peace. Is it really for us too?
Paul, in verses 6-9 is encouraging the Philippians (and us) to stand fast in the Lord, even through hard things. He knows first hand that life is not easy. He knows “to rejoice always” isn’t our normal response to trials. Yet, this is not something he’s encouraging just for some duty filled response… Paul (and David too) were confident in our God, 100%.
Confident that…
God is in control
God is our strong tower, and
God is guarding us!
And when we get down to these basic truths, and truly rejoice in these truths as believers in Jesus Christ, THAT is where protection that brings true peace (even in the middle of great troubles) finds rest in our lives too.
Philippians 4:4-7 reminds us to bring all our cares to him in prayer, and God invites us to this, but He even goes further. We are to ask God to do something with our prayer requests! Let’s take a look at verse 6 in Philippians 4:
“ be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…”
Let your requests be made known to God… Listen to that. He is waiting for us to communicate with him!
Nothing in our lives is outside the need for prayer. Yes, God already knows our needs, but His peace is waiting for us when we come to him. That the CREATOR of ALL THINGS would desire and encourage us to bring everything to Him, should bring us all to such a humble place of awe and thanksgiving! Doesn’t that blow your mind!?
“… and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” vs. 7
We’ve heard this verse many times, I know. But let it find new joy in your hearts today.
His peace guards and keep us like a strong tower! That is protection nothing else can even come close to in this world!
Paul shows us this peace IS possible, and he even goes further by showing us what things to keep our minds focused on in verses 8-9:
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned[e] and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.so that… God‘s peace stays in our minds.”
Friends, this isn’t fluff. This is real, and this is truth.
David believed it and we see evidence of it in his life throughout the Psalms. Look at Psalm 33:20-22:
20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
Paul believed it, and lived it out through all the trials he faced.
So I hope this reaches into your heart and blesses you today too. Honestly, this verse wasn’t something I was thinking about, but last night I was doing some art journaling and this little “Protection” card was something I decided to use on this blank page. I read the verse and thought I’d use that as a starting point for my morning devotions today. Then I read the Enduring Word commentary on Philippians 4 and wrote my notes in this journal.
Let’s remind ourselves today as we read through Philippians 4 to soak in the things to meditate on, and take time to set our minds on them. We know our minds are a battlefield… (that’s a whole other blog post…)
So today let God bring you His peace, and protection friend! ❤️🙌🏻
