This post is part of a 40-Day Prayer Journey through the season of Lent. Click here to learn more and read other posts in the series.
“The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
Have you ever wondered why so many sermons end with this verse?
This ending, after the pastor has said “Amen” and before the prayer following the sermon, is called the votum. That word comes from a Latin word meaning “to vow” or “to promise.” These words from Scripture, Philippians 4:7, are a promise that we, as God’s children, so desperately need to hear.
In explanation of this wonderful verse, Pastor Harlyn J. Kuschel wrote this in his commentary on Philippians, Colossians, Philemon in The People’s Bible® series:
Over all of believers’ lives, over all their labors and endeavors, rests the blessed peace of God. The peace of God originates in God. In love he imparts that peace to his children, his believers. He fills their hearts with peace through the gospel assurance that in Christ Jesus their sins are forgiven and they are at peace with him. . . . That precious peace—“which transcends all understanding,” as Paul assures his readers—will guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (p. 92)
Our sins are forgiven. God calls us his dearly loved children. We have peace with him through our Savior Jesus. A place in heaven is waiting for us when Christ returns or calls us home.
Do we understand that? Can we wrap our minds around how God could love us enough to send his Son to live, die, and rise again for us? Can we grasp how amazing it is that God freely gives us peace through Jesus and calls us his own? No. Not fully. But through Spirit-worked faith, these are the truths, the unbreakable promises that God makes in his Word, that we cling to and focus on throughout life.
Why? Because so much happens in our lives that makes us wonder, fear, and doubt that God really does love us, that our sins are forgiven, that we have peace with him, and that we have any place waiting for us in heaven.
God’s peace is yours, dear Christian, through your Savior Jesus. No matter what happens in this life, no matter what trials you face, no matter what accusations the devil attempts to throw at you for the sinful things you’ve done—God’s peace is yours.
“The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
That’s a fact. That’s a promise.
Today as you pray, ask that God would ease troubled and fearful hearts, pointing them in his Word to his forgiveness, love, and peace, which transcends all understanding, and would guard his children’s hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Did you enjoy this post? Subscribe for free devotional content every week!
Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
Leave a Reply