May 5, 2021 THE BATTLEGROUND
Philippians 4:6-9 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace shall be with you.”
Without any doubt, we need to absorb the truth of these verses. We live in a day when, anxiety, worry, fear, loneliness, addictions, broken relationships, and depression, seems to be more the norm rather than the exception. The good news is that as believers, we do not have to live according to the ‘day in which we live’ or according to the ways of the culture-that really is great news for us. God does not leave us alone to figure it out, but gives us specific instructions on how to know and experience the peace of God no matter what is taking place in the world around us. (Let me say up front-we are here to have influence in the culture; we are not to ‘bury our head in the sand’. Our having the peace of God is an influence on the culture.) The way to experience the peace of God is clear; prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving to God is the antidote for anxiety and the like. We have the power to lay aside the things that would rob us of the peace of God. As we truly trust God and pray to Him, and give thanks to Him from the deepest part of our being, we will experience “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension,” and the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds. Having the peace of God is not dependent on circumstances; nothing or no one can rob us of His peace when our hearts are turned to Him. We have an important part in the process, yet all too often this is where so many err. We must own our thoughts-we determine what we think about-and that is a powerful truth. There is no end to the ills of society, to the problems all around; if not alert, we will find our minds dwelling on these things-and that is our undoing. Paul gives us a rather narrow list of things that we are to let our minds dwell on. (Again, we are not exempt from problems and we must deal with unpleasant issues-but we are to do with the peace of God ruling in our hearts.) We are to set out mind on what is true, honorable, of good repute, what is pure and lovely, what is excellent, and anything worthy of praise. The battle is won or lost depending on where we set our mind; that sounds rather simplistic, but that is the battleground. The key point we must not miss is that we must have our mind submitted to the Spirit; we must not let our mind choose what it thinks about; our mind is to serve us. If we take the bridle off the mind, we lose the battle. Yes, it is possible to “be anxious for nothing” and it is possible and to experience “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension.” Some say we are born either with a positive mindset or a negative mindset and that is how we live; we are born with certain tendencies, but the truth presented above is for every believer.
Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Blessings, Buddy
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