August 20, 2025 • 21 mins
DAY 18: PEACE BEYOND UNDERSTANDINGScripture:Philippians 4:7Introduction Some days feel like a stormy sea—news headlines, personal pressures, and unexpected setbacks all at once. Yet Scripture promises a peace that doesn’t just soothe; it guards. Today’s lesson invites you to experience God’s peace as a steady garrison around your heart and mind, no matter what you face.Backstory on Philippians 4:7 Philippians is a joy-filled letter Paul wrote from prison to believers in Philippi, a Roman colony known for its military presence. In chapter 4, Paul addresses real concerns—conflict in the church (Euodia and Syntyche), anxiety, and daily needs—then gives a pathway to peace: rejoice, pray with thanksgiving, and focus your mind on what is true (Philippians 4:4–9).When Paul says, “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7), he uses a military term for guard (phroureō), evoking the image of a Roman garrison standing watch. To a city familiar with soldiers, Paul paints God’s peace as a divine sentry, actively protecting us from fear, turmoil, and mental spiral—through Christ.Affirmation God’s peace guards my heart and mind, bringing calmness and assurance.Word of the Day: Understanding Understanding is our human capacity to make sense of life. Philippians 4:7 says God’s peace “surpasses all understanding”—it is higher than what we can analyze, predict, or control. In other words, God’s peace is not the result of everything making sense; it is the result of trusting the One who holds everything together.Lesson Focus God’s peace is not dependent on circumstances. It transcends understanding, offering serenity amidst chaos when we place our trust in Christ.Deep Dive
- Peace is a Person’s presence, not the absence of problems. Jesus says, “My peace I give to you… not as the world gives” (John 14:27). Worldly peace demands control; Christ’s peace flows from His nearness: “The Lord is near” (Philippians 4:5).
- Peace is the fruit of prayerful surrender. Paul links peace with a specific practice: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God… and the peace of God… will guard your hearts and your minds” (Philippians 4:6–7). We don’t earn peace—we receive it as we release our burdens and thank God in advance for His faithfulness.
- Peace is maintained by a renewed mind. Right after the promise of peace, Paul instructs us where to place our thoughts: true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable (Philippians 4:8). Peace thrives where the mind is stayed on God: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3).
- God’s peace is protective and personal.
- Scripture: Philippians 4:7; Isaiah 26:3.
- Insight: Peace is not fragile. It stands guard over you in Christ, stabilizing both heart (emotions) and mind (thoughts).
- God’s peace is different from the world’s peace.
- Scripture: John 14:27; John 16:33.
- Insight: The world promises peace through control or escape; Jesus offers peace in Himself, even in tribulation.
- God’s peace is accessed through trust-filled prayer and obedience.
- Scripture: Philippians 4:6–9; Colossians 3:15.
- Insight: As we pray with thanksgiving, fix our thoughts on what is true, and practice what we’ve learned, the peace of God rules in our hearts.
- Practice the exchange: worry for prayer.
- What to do today: Write down your top three worries. One by one, turn each into a specific prayer, adding one sentence of thanksgiving by faith for how God will work.
- Scripture: Philippians 4:6–7 (“by prayer… with thanksgiving”); 1 Peter 5:7 (“cast all your anxiety on Him”).
- Why it works: Thanksgiving shifts your focus from the problem to the Provider, opening your heart to receive peace.
- Set a mind guard: refocus every time anxiety knocks.
- What to do today: Choose one Philippians 4:8 quality (for example, “true”). When anxious thoughts come, ask: Is this thought true? If not, replace it with a verse that is true.
- Scripture: Philippians 4:8; Romans 12:2 (renewing the mind).
- Why it works: Peace grows where your thoughts align with God’s truth.
- Walk in gentle rhythms of peace with others.
- What to do today: Intentionally respond gently in one tense interaction. Speak slowly, listen fully, and aim for unity, not victory.
- Scripture: Philippians 4:5 (“Let your gentleness be evident to all”); Matthew 5:9 (peacemakers); Ephesians 4:2–3 (maintain unity in peace).
- Why it works: Relational peace strengthens inner peace. Obedience invites the “God of peace” to be experientially near (Philipp
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning,
good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good more.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Yeah, good morn, yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning,
good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, morn, good morning,
good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Y'all.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
I'm gonna share this out really quick and get some
people a chance to come.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
On in the room. Come on in the room. Come
on in the room.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Come on in the room, y'all.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Peace beyond understanding. It's our listen for today. Peace beyond understanding.
M hm, come on in, come on here, come on here, Yeah,
(01:17):
come on he in this morning, come on here in
this morning. Come on here in this morning. H m hmmm, y'all,
(01:52):
come on in this morning, Come on in this morning.
Share this with somebody, Share this with somebody on this morning, y'all.
Come on in the room, come on in, Come on in,
come on in, come on in. Gonna give a few
people a chance to come on in this morning, y'all.
We are day number eighteen on this twenty one day journey.
(02:14):
We are enough day number eighteen on this twenty one
day journey. Y'all. Day number eighteen on this twenty one
day journey and the title is Peace Beyond Understanding, Peace
beyond understanding. Hmm, Peace beyond understanding. I tell you I'm
grateful for I'm just grateful for the opportunity.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
If you do not have a copy of this devotion.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Know that you can grab you one over on my
website which is www. Angela Thomas smith books dot com. Again,
that is Angela Thomas Smith books dot com. You can
grab this devotion or any other devotions that are part
of my catalog. Again, I want to thank you guys
for joining me. If you would share this out with
(02:59):
some one in your circle, never know what they may
be in need of. They may be in need of
what I'm gonna share on today. So I invite you
to share this out with someone if you don't mind,
if you're on TikTok, if you don't mind tapping that
screen a couple of times, y'all, It is for me
and it is for us, y'all. If you tap that screen,
it helps us get out in the for you page,
(03:21):
and you can gain points from your tapping. If you
are a fan, if you are subscrived to be a
fan y'all, I tell you, the engagement is worth it
if you are participating, because you benefit as well as
I benefit in the ones that need to hear what
we're sharing can also benefit. So again, if you would
(03:41):
tap that screen, if you haven't sense your Daily Heart,
Senior Daily Heart. It's only a penny, y'all. It's only
a penny. But if not just share out with somebody,
it would definitely do the pot the broadcast some justice.
It helps us to get out in the for you
page for that person that.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
May be in need of a word on this morning.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
So if you would, if you would, and I want
to thank those on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch and kick for
joining us on this morning.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Always if you.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Miss us live, if you miss any part of this,
you always can go back to the Crew podcast and
check out check out this broadcast. It is available on
our YouTube as well as through our autoio platform which
is speaker dot com, so you have an opportunity to
catch these broadcasts as well. Again, I want to thank
(04:37):
you guys for joining. I'm gonna go ahead and jump
right on into the listen because I try not to
be on here longer than thirty minutes. So with that
being said, Father God, in there ain't much Jesus what.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
I thank you for this space.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
I thank you for yet another opportunity that we can
come before you, Lord God, and share that that you've
placed on my heart. I'm not a theologian. I don't
walk in the office, but I just walk in experiences
these things that you have allowed me to experience to
bring you, Lord, but to help me out on this
journey we call life.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
So Lord, I thank you for this hour. I thank
you for this space.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
I thank you for yet another opportunity to allow me
to see a day that I've never seen before. So Father,
I asked that you will decrease and decrease me in
the flesh and allow your spirit man to rise up
within me, Lord God, that I will be able to
carry the message that you placed on my heart, Lord God,
and that the person on the other end that's receiving
(05:26):
these nuggets, that's receiving these seeds, R God, that they
will follow on fertile ground, that they will be able
to produce fruit from the seed that's on And Father,
I thank you, I thank you, I thank you, I
thank you, and I ask that you will just have
your way throughout this time that I am on this
live and I thank you and your son Jesus name, Amen, Amen, Amen,
(05:48):
and y'all again we are coming from this devotion is
called God is my refuge and my present health. God
is my refuge and my present help. We are they
number eighteen on this journey. We're day number eighteen on
this journey, and it is a twenty one day journal
Journal devotion. Today's title is peace beyond understanding, Peace beyond understanding,
(06:17):
Peace beyond understanding. Our scripture today is going to be
coming from Philippians four and seven, and it says, and
the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, regard your
heart and your mind, and Christ Jesus. Our affirmation for
today is God's God's peace guards my heart and mind,
(06:42):
bringing calmness in assurance. Again, God's Peace guards my heart
and mind, bringing calmness and assurance. Some days I'm sure
we feel like at we're at a stormy see news headlines,
personal pressure, and unexpected setbacks all at once. Yet the
(07:04):
scripture promise a peace that does just soothe, it guards.
Today's lesson invites you to experience God's peace at a
steady pace around your heart and mind no matter what
you are facing, He'll give you peace in the midst
(07:25):
of a storm. A little backstory on Philippians four and seven.
The Philippians is a joy filled letter Paul wrote from
prison to the believers of Phili, a Roman colony known
for its military presence. In chapter four, Paul addresses real
concerns conflict in the church, anxiety, and daily needs, then
(07:48):
gives a pathway to peace. Rejoice, pray with thanksgiving, and
focus your mind on what is true that it is
Philippians four, verses four through nine. It says, when pop
God says the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
regard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. He
(08:08):
is using a military tarb for God fair Rura, and
it invokes the image of Roman garsan standing watch to
a city familiar with soldiers. Paul paints God's peace in
a divine serenity, actively protecting us from fear tomorrow and
(08:30):
mental spiral through Christ. Our word of today is understanding.
Understanding is our human capacity to make sense of this
thing we call life and Philippians four and seven, it
says God's peace surpasses all understanding. It is a higher
(08:53):
than what we can analyze, what we can predict, or
what we can control. In other words, God's peace is
not a result of everything making sense. It is a
result of trusting the one who holds everything together. Huh,
our creator, our creator. So I want to focus on
(09:14):
this thing. God's peace is not dependent on circumstances because
it transcend understanding. Offering serenity amounts chaos. Everything can be
going haywire around you. But know that you can have
peace in God when we place our trust in Christ.
(09:34):
Peace is a person's presence, not the absence of problems.
Just say this, My peace I give to you, not
as the world gives. Again, my peace I gives to you,
not as the world gives. And that's coming from John
(09:55):
fourteen and twenty seven. Worldly peace demand control. Christ's peace
flows from his nearness. The Lord is near, he says
it in his word Philippians four and five. Peace is
the fruit of prayer for surrendering. Paul links peace with
(10:16):
a pacific practice. Do not be anxious about anything, but
in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, Let your
requests be known unto God, and peace of God regard your.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Heart in your mind.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
We don't earn peace. We receive it as we release
our burdens and thank God in advance for faithfulness. Peace
is maintained by the renewing of our mind. Right from
the promise of peace. Paul instructs us where to go
to the place our thoughts true, honorable, just, pure, lovely,
(10:56):
and commendable. Peace strives where the mind is stayed on God.
So you got to be stayed on God. You gotta
stay focused on the one that created us. You keep
him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you
because He trust in you. And that's Isaiah twenty six
and three. We gotta understand these three things. God's peace
(11:21):
is protective and personal. If you go over to Philippians
four and seven Isaiah twenty six and three, you will
see this peace is not fragile. It stands guard over
Christ and stabilize both our heart, which is our emotion,
in our mind, which are our thoughts.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Secondly, God's peace is different from world peace.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
You can go over and read it in John fourteen
and twenty seven and John sixteen and thirty three.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
It says the world.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Promises peace to control or escape, but Jesus offers peace
in himself even in tribulation. Thirdly, God's peace is access
through trust, feel prayer in obedience. You gotta be obedient
to his word. Go over to Philippians four, six and
nine and Collosians three in fifteen and read it for yourself.
(12:14):
As we pray with thanksgiving, fix our thoughts on what
is true, and practice what we have learned in peace,
the peace of God will rule in our hearts. You
gotta do these three things again. I say, God's peace
is protective and personal. God's peace is different from world peace.
(12:34):
And God's peace is access through trust, feel prayer in obedience.
You gotta pray, you gotta submit, and you gotta be obedient.
How can you apply these things that I'm sharing with you?
How can you apply these things? Practice the exchange a
worry for prayer. Write down those things that are worrying you,
(12:58):
one by one, turn each into a pacific prayer, adding
one sentence of thanksgiving by faith For how God will
work y'all. Trust me, He's already working it out. He
just wants you to acknowledge it, so all you got
to do is write it down and give it back
to him. He tells us that in Philippians six and
(13:20):
seven by prayer with thanksgiving, cast all your anxiety on him.
Whatever's troubling in you today, give it to him and
leave it with him on today. Why it works because
Thanksgiving shift you're focused from problem to the provider. You
won't no longer think about what you're going through, but
(13:42):
the one that can see you through. Opening your heart
to receive peace. Set your mind God, refocus every time
anxiety knocks, anytime anytime you feel like the enemy.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Is coming up.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
You got to refocus your mind. Refocus your mind in
your heart to think about those things. Remind yourself of
these scriptures. Write it down, put it on a sticky note,
post it up so that you can reference it, so
that you can see it, so you can speak it
over your life. You gotta understand that you have the
power to act. It's this without truth. You can ask
(14:18):
God these things. Spend time with him and ask him
and he'll show you. He'll give you the verse to
go to. He'll show you in the scripture. He'll do
it for you. Know that peace grows where your thoughts
aligned with God's truth. Go in that word, because that
is our basic instructions before leaving this earth.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
That is the truth.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Go read it.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
He said, his word is the truth.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
And the life. Understand that. And then we got to
walk in a gentle rhythm of peace with others. Let
me repeat that, walk in a gentle rhythm of peace
with others. Okay, how can we do that? Intentionally? Respond
gently in one tense interaction. Speak slowly, listen fully. That's
(15:07):
why we got two of these and one of these.
We got two ears and one mouth. So be quit
to listen and slow to respond. Take it in and
aim for unity, not victory. A lot of us we
want to get one up. We want to get one
up on this person, one up on that person. When
it is for us, when it is for us to
(15:33):
just stay there and just do what God is telling
us to do.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
That's it. That is it. Totally. Let your relationships and
be rational, y'all. Let your relationship, let it that.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Inner piece come out in your relationships and the inner
counters that you have on today, y'all, you never know
what the next person is going through. That's why you
got to allow your inner peace, that that thing that
He is doing for you, allowed that to trickle out.
Because God peace is near and He's always there. So
(16:20):
I got a poem for y'all before I lead, before
I close out, I'm gonna share this poem with you guys.
In this devotion, we have a stripture, an affirmation, un lesson,
a press starter or takeaway in a poem each day.
This is what is included in this devotion. And it
is only a twenty one day devotion. Y'all were day eighteen,
(16:42):
so we got three more days. And then at the
end section four, there's a self reflection section that will
allow you to reflect on every day that we have
went through. So it breaks down each one of the
twenty one days and it gives you some scripture, and
it gives you some that you can dive a little
deeper into it. And it's not to replace the Bible.
(17:04):
It's only to supplement the Bible so that you can
dive a little deeper into the things that you're learning
and the things that you're reading. I just encourage you
just to spend time, just to spend time in the
world and being able to connect and have that connection
with Him.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Because at the end of the day, all God wants
us to do is to.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Acknowledge Him and invite him in because we have no
power but through him we have all power. But we
got to invite him in and acknowledge him because he
wants to work it out for our goods so that
he can be glorified. So know that. So the poem
for today is in storms of Life your Peace, I
(17:44):
seek a common presence, strong yet meek.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
In your embrace, I'll find relief. And y'all, that is
that piece.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
I tried to make them short, then want to make
him loan. Just wanted something that would touch your heart
and encourage you to be encourage you to stay on
this journey. And I'm thankful that God has given me
an outlet through books and through poetry to be able
to continue to share his goodness and to share the
things that He's done for me. Because when he raised
(18:18):
me up, I find bed of affliction. I wanted the
way to share what he had done for me. But
I didn't want to stand in the porpit. I didn't
want to have these titles, didn't want to have all
those things. And he allowed me to do it through books.
He allowed me to do it through podcasts, and he
allowed me to do it through coaching and the things
that he allowed me to do. Those gifts and those talents,
and He's done the same for you. Don't sit down
(18:39):
on them, y'all. So as we close, I'm gonna share
these things with you. It's just a little short recap
of what I've shared with you on today and again.
If you miss this, you can go back. You can
catch it on YouTube. You can catch it on twitch kick.
You also can catch it on speaker dot com, iHeartRadio,
all those various platforms. You can hear this lesson in
(19:02):
any lesson that I've been sharing over these last five months. Y'all.
We've been doing demotions now for five months, so you
can grab these nuggets. So as we close, God Peace
does not wait for perfect situations and circumstances. It meets
you right where you are through prayer, with thanksgiving, a
(19:23):
renewed mind and gentle obedient living. His peace guards your
heart mind in Christ. So today trade anxiety for prayer,
refocus your thoughts on truth, and practice peace in your relationships.
The Lord is near, receive his guarden peace. Join me
back here tomorrow for day number nineteen, y'all, love without limits.
(19:48):
We're going to be coming from First John Chapter four,
Verses nine and ten. Let's discover the measure less love
that fuels our faith and reshapes our lives. You can
stay connected with me to purchase a book by going
to www dot com Angela Thomas smithbooks dot com, and
(20:11):
you can stay connected to what I'm doing. I thank
you guys for joining me on this morning. I hope
that there has been something that I have shared on
today that have blessed you and would encourage you to
share it with someone else. And I invite you back
on tomorrow, invite somebody to come and join you on
these daily devotions. I'm here every day between seven and nine.
(20:32):
If you follow me, if you follow me on my platforms,
you will be notified when.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
I go live. So when I go live, you'll know
that I'm live.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
So I encourage you to follow me and stay connected
to the things that we are doing. If you're not
following the Crew podcast, stay connected to the Crew Podcast
because if there's something a message that you need to share, y'all,
we got ten hosts that can help you get that
message out.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Again.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
I'm grateful and thankful for that outlets and the opportunity
that God allows me to be able to share with
you guys. So thank you for your support know that
I love you with the love of Christ, and there's
absolutely nothing you can do about it. I pray that
your day is blessed beyond what you can see in
the natural, no matter what comes, that you know that
you have peace in God.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
All right. I love y'all and be blessed.
Good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning,
good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good more.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Yeah, good morn, yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning,
good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, morn, good morning,
good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Y'all.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
I'm gonna share this out really quick and get some
people a chance to come.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
On in the room. Come on in the room. Come
on in the room.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Come on in the room, y'all.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Peace beyond understanding. It's our listen for today. Peace beyond understanding.
M hm, come on in, come on here, come on here, Yeah,
(01:17):
come on he in this morning, come on here in
this morning. Come on here in this morning. H m hmmm, y'all,
(01:52):
come on in this morning, Come on in this morning.
Share this with somebody, Share this with somebody on this morning, y'all.
Come on in the room, come on in, Come on in,
come on in, come on in. Gonna give a few
people a chance to come on in this morning, y'all.
We are day number eighteen on this twenty one day journey.
(02:14):
We are enough day number eighteen on this twenty one
day journey. Y'all. Day number eighteen on this twenty one
day journey and the title is Peace Beyond Understanding, Peace
beyond understanding. Hmm, Peace beyond understanding. I tell you I'm
grateful for I'm just grateful for the opportunity.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
If you do not have a copy of this devotion.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Know that you can grab you one over on my
website which is www. Angela Thomas smith books dot com. Again,
that is Angela Thomas Smith books dot com. You can
grab this devotion or any other devotions that are part
of my catalog. Again, I want to thank you guys
for joining me. If you would share this out with
(02:59):
some one in your circle, never know what they may
be in need of. They may be in need of
what I'm gonna share on today. So I invite you
to share this out with someone if you don't mind,
if you're on TikTok, if you don't mind tapping that
screen a couple of times, y'all, It is for me
and it is for us, y'all. If you tap that screen,
it helps us get out in the for you page,
(03:21):
and you can gain points from your tapping. If you
are a fan, if you are subscrived to be a
fan y'all, I tell you, the engagement is worth it
if you are participating, because you benefit as well as
I benefit in the ones that need to hear what
we're sharing can also benefit. So again, if you would
(03:41):
tap that screen, if you haven't sense your Daily Heart,
Senior Daily Heart. It's only a penny, y'all. It's only
a penny. But if not just share out with somebody,
it would definitely do the pot the broadcast some justice.
It helps us to get out in the for you
page for that person that.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
May be in need of a word on this morning.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
So if you would, if you would, and I want
to thank those on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch and kick for
joining us on this morning.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Always if you.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Miss us live, if you miss any part of this,
you always can go back to the Crew podcast and
check out check out this broadcast. It is available on
our YouTube as well as through our autoio platform which
is speaker dot com, so you have an opportunity to
catch these broadcasts as well. Again, I want to thank
(04:37):
you guys for joining. I'm gonna go ahead and jump
right on into the listen because I try not to
be on here longer than thirty minutes. So with that
being said, Father God, in there ain't much Jesus what.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
I thank you for this space.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
I thank you for yet another opportunity that we can
come before you, Lord God, and share that that you've
placed on my heart. I'm not a theologian. I don't
walk in the office, but I just walk in experiences
these things that you have allowed me to experience to
bring you, Lord, but to help me out on this
journey we call life.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
So Lord, I thank you for this hour. I thank
you for this space.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
I thank you for yet another opportunity to allow me
to see a day that I've never seen before. So Father,
I asked that you will decrease and decrease me in
the flesh and allow your spirit man to rise up
within me, Lord God, that I will be able to
carry the message that you placed on my heart, Lord God,
and that the person on the other end that's receiving
(05:26):
these nuggets, that's receiving these seeds, R God, that they
will follow on fertile ground, that they will be able
to produce fruit from the seed that's on And Father,
I thank you, I thank you, I thank you, I
thank you, and I ask that you will just have
your way throughout this time that I am on this
live and I thank you and your son Jesus name, Amen, Amen, Amen,
(05:48):
and y'all again we are coming from this devotion is
called God is my refuge and my present health. God
is my refuge and my present help. We are they
number eighteen on this journey. We're day number eighteen on
this journey, and it is a twenty one day journal
Journal devotion. Today's title is peace beyond understanding, Peace beyond understanding,
(06:17):
Peace beyond understanding. Our scripture today is going to be
coming from Philippians four and seven, and it says, and
the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, regard your
heart and your mind, and Christ Jesus. Our affirmation for
today is God's God's peace guards my heart and mind,
(06:42):
bringing calmness in assurance. Again, God's Peace guards my heart
and mind, bringing calmness and assurance. Some days I'm sure
we feel like at we're at a stormy see news headlines,
personal pressure, and unexpected setbacks all at once. Yet the
(07:04):
scripture promise a peace that does just soothe, it guards.
Today's lesson invites you to experience God's peace at a
steady pace around your heart and mind no matter what
you are facing, He'll give you peace in the midst
(07:25):
of a storm. A little backstory on Philippians four and seven.
The Philippians is a joy filled letter Paul wrote from
prison to the believers of Phili, a Roman colony known
for its military presence. In chapter four, Paul addresses real
concerns conflict in the church, anxiety, and daily needs, then
(07:48):
gives a pathway to peace. Rejoice, pray with thanksgiving, and
focus your mind on what is true that it is
Philippians four, verses four through nine. It says, when pop
God says the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
regard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. He
(08:08):
is using a military tarb for God fair Rura, and
it invokes the image of Roman garsan standing watch to
a city familiar with soldiers. Paul paints God's peace in
a divine serenity, actively protecting us from fear tomorrow and
(08:30):
mental spiral through Christ. Our word of today is understanding.
Understanding is our human capacity to make sense of this
thing we call life and Philippians four and seven, it
says God's peace surpasses all understanding. It is a higher
(08:53):
than what we can analyze, what we can predict, or
what we can control. In other words, God's peace is
not a result of everything making sense. It is a
result of trusting the one who holds everything together. Huh,
our creator, our creator. So I want to focus on
(09:14):
this thing. God's peace is not dependent on circumstances because
it transcend understanding. Offering serenity amounts chaos. Everything can be
going haywire around you. But know that you can have
peace in God when we place our trust in Christ.
(09:34):
Peace is a person's presence, not the absence of problems.
Just say this, My peace I give to you, not
as the world gives. Again, my peace I gives to you,
not as the world gives. And that's coming from John
(09:55):
fourteen and twenty seven. Worldly peace demand control. Christ's peace
flows from his nearness. The Lord is near, he says
it in his word Philippians four and five. Peace is
the fruit of prayer for surrendering. Paul links peace with
(10:16):
a pacific practice. Do not be anxious about anything, but
in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, Let your
requests be known unto God, and peace of God regard your.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Heart in your mind.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
We don't earn peace. We receive it as we release
our burdens and thank God in advance for faithfulness. Peace
is maintained by the renewing of our mind. Right from
the promise of peace. Paul instructs us where to go
to the place our thoughts true, honorable, just, pure, lovely,
(10:56):
and commendable. Peace strives where the mind is stayed on God.
So you got to be stayed on God. You gotta
stay focused on the one that created us. You keep
him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you
because He trust in you. And that's Isaiah twenty six
and three. We gotta understand these three things. God's peace
(11:21):
is protective and personal. If you go over to Philippians
four and seven Isaiah twenty six and three, you will
see this peace is not fragile. It stands guard over
Christ and stabilize both our heart, which is our emotion,
in our mind, which are our thoughts.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Secondly, God's peace is different from world peace.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
You can go over and read it in John fourteen
and twenty seven and John sixteen and thirty three.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
It says the world.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Promises peace to control or escape, but Jesus offers peace
in himself even in tribulation. Thirdly, God's peace is access
through trust, feel prayer in obedience. You gotta be obedient
to his word. Go over to Philippians four, six and
nine and Collosians three in fifteen and read it for yourself.
(12:14):
As we pray with thanksgiving, fix our thoughts on what
is true, and practice what we have learned in peace,
the peace of God will rule in our hearts. You
gotta do these three things again. I say, God's peace
is protective and personal. God's peace is different from world peace.
(12:34):
And God's peace is access through trust, feel prayer in obedience.
You gotta pray, you gotta submit, and you gotta be obedient.
How can you apply these things that I'm sharing with you?
How can you apply these things? Practice the exchange a
worry for prayer. Write down those things that are worrying you,
(12:58):
one by one, turn each into a pacific prayer, adding
one sentence of thanksgiving by faith For how God will
work y'all. Trust me, He's already working it out. He
just wants you to acknowledge it, so all you got
to do is write it down and give it back
to him. He tells us that in Philippians six and
(13:20):
seven by prayer with thanksgiving, cast all your anxiety on him.
Whatever's troubling in you today, give it to him and
leave it with him on today. Why it works because
Thanksgiving shift you're focused from problem to the provider. You
won't no longer think about what you're going through, but
(13:42):
the one that can see you through. Opening your heart
to receive peace. Set your mind God, refocus every time
anxiety knocks, anytime anytime you feel like the enemy.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Is coming up.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
You got to refocus your mind. Refocus your mind in
your heart to think about those things. Remind yourself of
these scriptures. Write it down, put it on a sticky note,
post it up so that you can reference it, so
that you can see it, so you can speak it
over your life. You gotta understand that you have the
power to act. It's this without truth. You can ask
(14:18):
God these things. Spend time with him and ask him
and he'll show you. He'll give you the verse to
go to. He'll show you in the scripture. He'll do
it for you. Know that peace grows where your thoughts
aligned with God's truth. Go in that word, because that
is our basic instructions before leaving this earth.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
That is the truth.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Go read it.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
He said, his word is the truth.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
And the life. Understand that. And then we got to
walk in a gentle rhythm of peace with others. Let
me repeat that, walk in a gentle rhythm of peace
with others. Okay, how can we do that? Intentionally? Respond
gently in one tense interaction. Speak slowly, listen fully. That's
(15:07):
why we got two of these and one of these.
We got two ears and one mouth. So be quit
to listen and slow to respond. Take it in and
aim for unity, not victory. A lot of us we
want to get one up. We want to get one
up on this person, one up on that person. When
it is for us, when it is for us to
(15:33):
just stay there and just do what God is telling
us to do.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
That's it. That is it. Totally. Let your relationships and
be rational, y'all. Let your relationship, let it that.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Inner piece come out in your relationships and the inner
counters that you have on today, y'all, you never know
what the next person is going through. That's why you
got to allow your inner peace, that that thing that
He is doing for you, allowed that to trickle out.
Because God peace is near and He's always there. So
(16:20):
I got a poem for y'all before I lead, before
I close out, I'm gonna share this poem with you guys.
In this devotion, we have a stripture, an affirmation, un lesson,
a press starter or takeaway in a poem each day.
This is what is included in this devotion. And it
is only a twenty one day devotion. Y'all were day eighteen,
(16:42):
so we got three more days. And then at the
end section four, there's a self reflection section that will
allow you to reflect on every day that we have
went through. So it breaks down each one of the
twenty one days and it gives you some scripture, and
it gives you some that you can dive a little
deeper into it. And it's not to replace the Bible.
(17:04):
It's only to supplement the Bible so that you can
dive a little deeper into the things that you're learning
and the things that you're reading. I just encourage you
just to spend time, just to spend time in the
world and being able to connect and have that connection
with Him.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Because at the end of the day, all God wants
us to do is to.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Acknowledge Him and invite him in because we have no
power but through him we have all power. But we
got to invite him in and acknowledge him because he
wants to work it out for our goods so that
he can be glorified. So know that. So the poem
for today is in storms of Life your Peace, I
(17:44):
seek a common presence, strong yet meek.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
In your embrace, I'll find relief. And y'all, that is
that piece.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
I tried to make them short, then want to make
him loan. Just wanted something that would touch your heart
and encourage you to be encourage you to stay on
this journey. And I'm thankful that God has given me
an outlet through books and through poetry to be able
to continue to share his goodness and to share the
things that He's done for me. Because when he raised
(18:18):
me up, I find bed of affliction. I wanted the
way to share what he had done for me. But
I didn't want to stand in the porpit. I didn't
want to have these titles, didn't want to have all
those things. And he allowed me to do it through books.
He allowed me to do it through podcasts, and he
allowed me to do it through coaching and the things
that he allowed me to do. Those gifts and those talents,
and He's done the same for you. Don't sit down
(18:39):
on them, y'all. So as we close, I'm gonna share
these things with you. It's just a little short recap
of what I've shared with you on today and again.
If you miss this, you can go back. You can
catch it on YouTube. You can catch it on twitch kick.
You also can catch it on speaker dot com, iHeartRadio,
all those various platforms. You can hear this lesson in
(19:02):
any lesson that I've been sharing over these last five months. Y'all.
We've been doing demotions now for five months, so you
can grab these nuggets. So as we close, God Peace
does not wait for perfect situations and circumstances. It meets
you right where you are through prayer, with thanksgiving, a
(19:23):
renewed mind and gentle obedient living. His peace guards your
heart mind in Christ. So today trade anxiety for prayer,
refocus your thoughts on truth, and practice peace in your relationships.
The Lord is near, receive his guarden peace. Join me
back here tomorrow for day number nineteen, y'all, love without limits.
(19:48):
We're going to be coming from First John Chapter four,
Verses nine and ten. Let's discover the measure less love
that fuels our faith and reshapes our lives. You can
stay connected with me to purchase a book by going
to www dot com Angela Thomas smithbooks dot com, and
(20:11):
you can stay connected to what I'm doing. I thank
you guys for joining me on this morning. I hope
that there has been something that I have shared on
today that have blessed you and would encourage you to
share it with someone else. And I invite you back
on tomorrow, invite somebody to come and join you on
these daily devotions. I'm here every day between seven and nine.
(20:32):
If you follow me, if you follow me on my platforms,
you will be notified when.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
I go live. So when I go live, you'll know
that I'm live.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
So I encourage you to follow me and stay connected
to the things that we are doing. If you're not
following the Crew podcast, stay connected to the Crew Podcast
because if there's something a message that you need to share, y'all,
we got ten hosts that can help you get that
message out.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Again.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
I'm grateful and thankful for that outlets and the opportunity
that God allows me to be able to share with
you guys. So thank you for your support know that
I love you with the love of Christ, and there's
absolutely nothing you can do about it. I pray that
your day is blessed beyond what you can see in
the natural, no matter what comes, that you know that
you have peace in God.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
All right. I love y'all and be blessed.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!