Do you mind?

Text: Philippians 4:4-9

Thoughts:

Everyone wants to experience peace. But most people are not experiencing peace for one reason or the other. For them peace is often an elusive dream. There are many things that can cause us to experience unease instead of peace. Many of these things are beyond our control. They just happen to us. We never invite them and we never desire them. But, even if this is true, peace is still attainable by the grace of God. The key is to understand that what happens inside of us is very much under our control. Paul talks about this in Philippians 4:4-9. We need to understand that the direction of our thoughts is in our control. And the direction of our thoughts will affect the status of our hearts. We must choose to focus on God and His point of view about any situation in order to experience real peace. We must stop focusing on our circumstances. If we control our thoughts — if we choose God-glorifying thoughts instead of “poor me” thoughts — then we can experience God’s peace, because He promises it to us. He said, “And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard (garrison) your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (v.7) Amen to that.