Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:09] Welcome back to another edition of the weekday podcast. Today's episode is part of our Preparing before the Rush series. And I hope today's really helpful to you. You know that moment when you finally sit down, you take a deep breath, and you think, okay, I can relax now. And then your phone dings. The calm you just found is gone in two seconds flat. Sometimes it's a work email that just can't wait. Sometimes it's a family group text that's suddenly urgent. Sometimes it's your own brain that won't stop sending notifications, like, did I forget something? Am I behind? What if this doesn't work out? Our peace gets interrupted constantly. And for a lot of us, that interruption has become our normal. We wake up already anxious, already spinning scenarios in our mind, and we're trying to hold everything together.
[00:00:51] And the more we try to protect our peace, the more fragile it feels. This is one of the reasons why I love the image that Paul gives us. In Philippians 4. 7, he writes, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. That word guard is powerful. It's a military term. Paul's audience in Philippi would have pictured Roman soldiers standing attention around the city gates. These weren't casual security guards. They were trained, they were disciplined, they were alert, and their job was to keep watch, to protect what mattered from whatever tried to break in. And Paul says, that's what peace does, that when you hand your worries over to God. His peace doesn't just pat you on the back and say, well, don't worry about it. His peace stands guard like a soldier at the door of your mind and heart, and it protects you from the thoughts that sneak in at 2am it holds the line when fear tries to storm the gates. It's not fragile, it's fortified. And notice this. Paul doesn't say you guard your heart. He says God's peace will guard it. You don't have to white knuckle your sanity or duct tape your emotions together. The guarding isn't your job, it's his. And peace isn't passive, it's active. It's God's power at work, defending your inner world from the chaos around you. Now, the people in Philippi would have taken comfort in that. Their city was literally protected by Roman garrison soldiers on every corner, a constant reminder that they belong to something powerful. And Paul flips that image and says, true security, it isn't found in the Empire, it's found in Jesus. You can have guards on your city and still have anxiety in your soul. But when the peace of God begins to take its post, you're safe from the inside out. Now, the truth is, we leak peace when we over commit or over consume or overthink. We try to do everything. We fix everyone. We carry the things that we were never meant to carry.
[00:02:41] And when that happens, there's no room left for peace to stand guard. Because we're filled every inch of the space of our life with control. Peace can't fill what's already full.
[00:02:51] So protecting your peace starts with creating margin. Now, this is not just a calendar issue, it's actually a soul issue. If you never stop moving, your spirit will never get to settle. And so let me give you a couple of practical ways to create space for peace to do its job. One is boundaries. Say no to good things that pull you away from the best things.
[00:03:08] Boundaries are not selfish. They're spiritual. They remind you that not every open door is your door, not your assignment. Peace requires limits. Number two, Disconnect. Unplug from the noise you weren't built to carry the Internet's outage or everyone's opinions.
[00:03:23] Take a digital Sabbath. Even a few hours, turn off the alerts. The world will still spin and your soul might start breathing again. Number three, give God the first word before you scroll or sprint to your day, pause and pray. A few minutes in the morning can actually anchor your thoughts before the rush hits. And when God has your first attention, peace gets a head start. Number four, pause before you react. That small moment between the stimulus and the response is actually sacred. When tension rises at home, at work, or on the road, breathe before you speak. Peace often hides in that one second gap. Then finally, number five, Rest like it's a commandment. Well, actually, it is. Sabbath isn't a suggestion for when life calms down. It's a rhythm that keeps your soul steady so that you can handle what life brings your way. And when you rest, you're declaring, God can handle what I'm not managing right now. Now, if you don't protect your peace, the world will drain it, and it'll drain it fast. But when you make space for stillness, you begin to notice it. That quiet calm that doesn't make sense. That strength that shows up in the middle of the storm. That whisper in your heart reminding you the Lord is near.
[00:04:31] I think about it like packing a car after a Costco run. You know that moment when you're convinced it'll all fit. You've got 30 rolls of paper towels, you got a kayak, a box of granola bars the size of your torso. You push, you rearrange, you slam the trunk, and then something pops open and everything fills out.
[00:04:47] That's what happens to us.
[00:04:49] We keep cramming things in, like more work and more noise and more worry until something gives. Protecting your piece means knowing when to stop packing, when to step back, to close the hatch, and to say, that's enough for today, God. You've got the rest. Because here's the truth. Peace doesn't come from control. It actually comes from surrender. And when we give the burden back to him, his peace takes its post, guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. It is not passive. Peace is protected. Have a great day. We'll see you back here soon.
[00:05:31] It.
