Guarded

This will be a shorter post, cross my heart. We were listening to the Seeds of Courage CD, by Seeds Family Worship, in the car this afternoon and as a particular verse/song came on I realized something wonderful. I don't know how many of you know about the Seeds Family Worship CDs, but they are so great! They use the simple concept of scriptures set to music. It's engrains God's word on your heart and in your mind. It's geared towards the whole family and it's actually really good music that even the adults will catch themselves singing throughout the day, or listening to even when the kiddos aren't in the car with you. You can see their stuff here. Anyway, the song that I am referring to is the verse Philippians 4:6-7 that says: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, that transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Most of us know that verse, or have at least heard of it. But read it again. The part that stood out to me the most this afternoon was the last sentence. God's peace, that transcends ALL understanding, will GUARD our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. AWESOME! I can attest that God has done that very thing in my life. People tell me that I have endured what most could not in my last 30 years, but I know it's not of my own strength, and when someone knows Christ, they have the same strength that I have and they can endure way more than they think they can.

So I was thinking back to the last few months, of course, and how with Christ I have survived one of my worst nightmares. The only explanation for the fact that I have not gone crazy through all of this is that He has guarded my heart and my mind. The peace that accompanies tragedy really does transcend all understanding. I don't fully understand how it's possible. How does He do it?! How does He make survival possible and not just survival, but the survival of it with PEACE?! I don't fully know, but I am THANKFUL! The original Greek word for guard, in this verse, means obviously "to guard." But the in- depth definition of the word here means to guard, protect, keep, prevent hostile invasion, and to preserve one for the attainment of something. I LOVE that God can literally be preserving me (or you) for the attainment of something. He is guarding my heart and mind so that I can be useful for Him and to give Him glory! Again, AWESOME! The pain and the difficulty are useful and are not allowed in vain! Take heart! Nothing touches our lives without first going through His hands! Praise the Lord!