Philippians 4:6-7
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
In a recent devotional, this verse came to a new life for me and family during a time where we had some stress, anxiety, and tension. This verse carries an imperative for us as Believers to not be anxious about anything, but rather, everything be lifted to God in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. This hit me afresh so powerful, that even though I was facing job uncertainties and other "big" issues, I need to take these to God with a thankful heart. Our family decided to do that, to obey God's imperative here in His Word and in a reverent way, put God's promise to the test. That same day, my youngest son lost his pocketknife while doing livestock chores. He found his watch about 15 minutes later in a true needle and haystack manner. I got news about my issues in the workplace were resolved about a week later. God came through in a big way once we obeyed the text in faith! I know that should not be surprising at all, since God ALWAYS is faithful and His Word is ALWAYS reliable, true, and without error. The shaky and instable one is me, too often shouldering anxieties all on my own, white knuckling life instead of resting In Christ.
Something unique happened beyond resolution of the problems which is more pointed in terms of the text. God promises that the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep our hearts in minds through Christ Jesus. This means when we obey this text, the peace of God shall guard our heart and minds! This is God's Shalom which is not just absence of conflict but holistic peace and health of mind, body, spirit. To show God meant business here, The Holy Spirit urged Paul to use word Paul uses "phroureo". This is a military term that refers to an army garrison protecting a fort or city. So God here is promising to grant us His peace when we give our anxieties to Him with faith and thankfulness and that peace will proactively guard our hearts and minds. So that next news article, tweet, whatever that would have sunk you in worry, now will bounce right off.
I would encourage you to put God and His Word to the test and cast your care, cast your anxieties on Him, in faith and with a thankful heart and experience the peace of God come to your aid, through Christ, and guard your heart and mind. God bless you, family.