Peace That Protects Is Yours

In our anxiety-riddled culture, peace is one of the most sought-after commodities that money can’t buy. Not that people haven’t tried. Americans reportedly paid more than 11 billion dollars for anti-anxiety medication in 2023.¹ Mindfulness apps such as Calm and Headspace raked in over 16 billion dollars as well.²

Let’s face it, we’re a society desperate for peace. 

While drugs may numb the anxiety, and mindfulness may offer temporary and illusive power over it, neither can give the peace that we all crave. That peace has but one source: the Savior Himself. He promised it to His followers the night He was arrested (John 14:27). The Savior’s peace baffles the unbeliever and cannot be imitated by any spa, guru, or app. The peace given to us by Christ sets up a fortress in our hearts to protect from anything that might threaten to undo us. 

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7, emphasis added)

Protection against Our Own Thoughts 

Paul wrote about this incomprehensible, protective peace while under house arrest in Rome. While this certainly wasn’t the worst circumstance he’d ever faced, it wasn’t a picnic either. Who wants to be chained to a prison guard 24/7? Yet, do a quick readthrough of his letter to Philippi, and you’d be hard-pressed to find any hint of discouragement. Instead, Paul talks about joy—a lot. He even starts telling the Philippians how to deal with their own difficult circumstances. For instance, in chapter 4, he tells them:

Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6)

Prayer with thanksgiving—that’s the recipe for this incredible peace that he describes in verse 7. But the next verse gives the first hint of exactly what this peace guards against: 

Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. (Philippians 4:8)

By instructing the Philippians to direct their thoughts to the true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable things, Paul addresses a familiar element of worry: thoughts that just don’t stop. Like a hamster on a wheel, these thoughts just keep churning around in your head as you ponder the situation first from one angle, and then another, and then another, and then back to the first. Maybe you pull out your phone and Google the problem or send an SOS text to a buddy looking for help. 

But when you pull the brakes on the crazy train and turn your heart to God with gratitude, suddenly the peace given by Christ and borne out by the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22) begins its protecting work, guarding you from the scattered, anxious, godless thoughts that comprise your worry. God’s peace protects you from your own thoughts and helps you take each one captive (2 Cor. 10:3–5) so that your mind will be renewed and ultimately transformed into the image of Christ (Rom. 12:2).

Protection against Discontentment 

Though he may not use the word again before wrapping up his letter to the Philippians, Paul isn’t done hinting at just what the inscrutable peace of Christ guards against. Later in the chapter, Paul expresses his gratitude to the Philippian church for their monetary gift in support of his ministry, assuring them that his note is not just a ploy for money because finances matter very little to the apostle. To underscore his point, he makes this claim: 

In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. (Philippians 4:12)

The peace given by Christ protects us from the contagion of discontentment. Discontentment wonders if God will really do what He’s said He will do. Discontentment tries to advance on our hearts through small cracks of doubt and discouragement. However, as we render prayer to the Father with hearts of praise, the fruit of divine peace blocks the path of these insidious infiltrators and sends them packing. 

Protection against the World’s Devices

If you spend much time in the Upper Room Discourse (John 14–16), you’ll maybe get lost in the theology: Jesus’ teaching on the Holy Spirit, “abiding in the Vine,” and praying in Jesus’ name. Because the section is so dense with content, it can be easy to lose sight of the response of the original audience, the eleven faithful disciples. Jesus begins his final teaching time with His followers by telling them, “Do not let your heart be troubled” (14:1). That’s sort of like telling someone, “Now I don’t want you to freak out,” just before giving them news that will inevitably make them freak out. Though we’re not given much in the way of specifics regarding their response, we do see them ask several questions indicating they didn’t quite understand what they were hearing. And Jesus mentions that sorrow filled their hearts (16:6). I think it’s safe to say they were anxious. 

That’s probably why Jesus gives some amazing “peace promises” in this final sermon. Early on, He promises to leave His unique peace with His disciples (14:27); and He finishes the discourse with one of the most beautiful promises of the New Testament: 

I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world. (John 16:33)

Jesus assures His followers that those who are “in Him” have peace that supersedes anything the world can throw at them. While we remain in the world, we do not have to fear the tribulation that it might bring us. The peace of Christ—the peace won for us in the gospel—guarantees victory over the subterfuge and strategies of the world.We can rest because “it is finished”: Christ has already overcome the world. The game is over. We’re just waiting for the clock to run out. 

Protection against Stumbling 

This summer my family has embarked upon the odious chore of moving. This means I have to touch all of our worldly possessions and make the call on whether to keep, toss, or donate them. As I was packing, I came upon a pictorial directory of our church from about fifteen years ago. Of course, I had to stop and look through it. As I smiled at the pictures, I thanked God for the faithfulness of His saints, especially as my eye caught the photo of a dear man who had passed into eternity less than twenty-four hours earlier. Sadly, though, I also saw the pictures of several people who no longer identify with Christ or His church. Like the seed among the thorns, they have been choked out. 

This brings me to the final way that God’s peace guards us. This time, we see the proof in Psalm 119. 

Abundant peace belongs to those who love your instruction; nothing makes them stumble. (Psalm 119:165)

Lovers of God’s Word—and the God of the Word—are promised “abundant peace.” Not only that, nothing will make them stumble. They don’t keep their feet because of their own innate goodness, worthiness, righteousness, or any other -ness. They are protected because of the peace they have with God, because they have been reconciled to Him and united with Christ. No condemnation awaits them (Rom. 8:1) and nothing can separate them from the love of Christ (Rom. 8:38–39). No doubts, trials, persecution, worldly rhetoric, political debacle, international conflict, or global crisis will cause them to stumble. Why? The God of Peace makes it so: 

Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen. (Jude 1:24–25, emphasis added)

Friend, if you are in Christ, you have abundant, incomprehensible, inimitable, divine peace. Peace that protects you from the craziness of your own mind, the snare of discontentment, and the schemes and stumbling blocks of the world. 

¹ “Anxiety Disorders Treatment Market Report (2024 - 2032),” Towards Healthcare, accessed August 6, 2024, https://www.towardshealthcare.com/insights/anxiety-disorders-treatment-market-sizing.

² “Top Health and Meditation Apps by Revenue 2024,” Statista, accessed August 6, 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1239670/top-health-and-meditation-apps-by-revenue/.