Guard Duty

In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul entreats two ladies to agree in the Lord (Php 4:2) and asks the rest of them to help them do it (Php 4:3). Then he lists some things to do toward unity. Rejoice always (Php 4:4). "Let your reasonableness be known to everyone" (Php 4:5). That's an interesting one, isn't it? Then he tells them this:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Php 4:6-7)

Just what did Paul mean by that? We get the "be anxious for nothing" part because we're supposed to pray about everything. Except that's not quite what he said. We're supposed to let our requests be made known to God, sure, but we're supposed to do it "by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving." Let God know your requests with thanksgiving in the midst of your prayer and supplication.

Then there's the result. "The peace of God ... will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." He qualifies that "peace of God" by saying it "surpasses all understanding." We're not talking about ordinary peace. To the world, peace is the absence of conflict. In Christ we find peace in conflict. Oh, it only works when we're praying, both asking and thankful. It is only effective when we're trusting Him. And, of course, we can only trust Him when we're where He wants us to be. So we need that different kind of peace -- the peace of God.

Paul says that peace will guard our hearts and mind. What's that about? Isaiah wrote, "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You" (Isa 26:3). Paul talked about taking every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor 10:5). He told the Colossians, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, for to this you were called as members of one body. And be thankful" (Col 3:15). Solomon warned, "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life" (Prov 4:23). The mind and heart are critical. Defending them takes supernatural assistance.

The word there for "guard" was a military term. It was the sentinel, the watchman, the protector. Apparently we need to have our minds and hearts guarded. Why? Well, of course, in context, there is the attack of anxiety, right? "Be anxious for nothing." Sure. But we have more things to guard against than that. We have "strange doctrines" (1 Tim 1:3) and "heresies" (2 Peter 2:1). We are subject to deceit from without and within (Jer 17:9). Satan wants to blind us (2 Cor 4:4) and sin makes us crazy (Rom 1:28). We need to renew our minds (Rom 12:2). We fall so easily into false ideas since we live immersed in them. I guarantee neither you nor I are 100% correct in our thinking. I am quite certain that each of us have bought into the lies of the world without being aware of it. It looks normal. It's not.

Given the importance of minds and heart and the need to guard them, Paul offers one more defense here.

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 if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. (Php 4:8)

I don't know about you, but I'm quite certain that I don't have that practice down. But if I intend to renew my mind as I'm told, to guard my heart and mind like it says, and to follow Christ as any Christian should, I'm going to work on that. In a world disturbed by insanity and misdirected by immorality and hostile to the source of the correction to those things, I would think that God's people dwelling in those places would be a beacon of light. At least, I'll try to be. And, hey, doesn't that play back into that "Let your reasonableness be known to everyone"?