BIBLE STUDIES ARCHIVE.....The Peace Of God

"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."  Ph. 4:6-7
Newly saved and searching for a church more than nine years ago, I came across a small church directly across the street from our backyard.  I had visited several churches and not found "the one."  As I made my way into the church with some cracks in the ceiling and polished wooden pews, the bulletin spoke directly to my heart:  "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything."  The cracks have been repaired and the pews are giving way to chairs, yet the message that day has been engraved upon my heart.
Be careful for nothing:  care (worry) not for anything or anyone, neither gain nor loss. 
Psalm 55:22 tells us to "cast our burdens upon the Lord, for He will sustain us; He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." 
Proverbs 16:3 instructs us: "Commit our works unto the Lord, and our thoughts shall be established."  It is interesting to note the Hebrew word for "commit" is roll; as in to roll our works over to the Lord.  We give it to He who "establishes" our thoughts:
He FORMS our thoughts
He PREPARES our thoughts
He FIXES our thoughts
He PERPETUATES our thoughts
He DIRECTS our thoughts
In Matthew 6:25 Jesus shares this wisdom, "Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what you shall eat and what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on.  Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?"  
1Peter 5:7 exhorts us: "Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you."
So, rather than worrying, which does us no good, we are to give it to our Father in thankful prayer.  He blesses us with a wondrous blessing:  a peace that surpasses all understanding!
What is this peace?  The Greek word is eirene, which means peace and rest.  It indicates a state of untroubled, undisturbed well being, given by God as a result of atonement for sin and reconciliation achieved at the Cross.  It cannot be fully understood and apprehended by our minds.  If we try to explain it to others, we find we are at a loss for words; indeed there are no words and we are left to look at a brother or sister and hope they understand and have experienced such a peace.
In John 14:27, Jesus said "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
Romans 5:1 indicates that "therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"
Colossians 3:15 tells us to "let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body and be thankful."
It is this peace which Scripture tells us will "keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."  It keeps our thoughts, our understanding, our memory, our will, and our intention, affection and desires.  Thank You Lord Jesus, for being the keeper of our hearts and minds.