Let the Peace of God Rule in your Hearts
Introduction. The joy and excitement of professional sports is based on our ability to vicariously feel “the thrill of victory” with the team we choose. During these contests of strength and skill, sometimes rules are broken and tempers flare. For these moments, we have created the umpire or referee to arbitrate between players and bring order to the game. They make certain rules are kept, penalties are assessed and fairness is maintained. There is great wisdom in having an umpire stand between these opposing forces. They keep intense emotions under control.
Since the life of a Christian is described as those who “fight the good fight of the faith,” “wrestle against a spiritual host of wickedness,” “contend earnestly for the faith,” and “compete in the games,” there will be times when we too feel intense emotions. When such times come, we too will need a referee or umpire to bring order and peace to our hearts. The Holy Spirit chose the word “umpire” to describe what God gave to remove these powerful emotions.
While the term rule has many meanings in English, in Greek the “brabeuo” is the “activity of the umpire whose office at the games is to direct, arbitrate and decide the contest.” Each Christian must learn how to use “the peace of God” as the umpire to guard against things spiraling out of control during times when circumstances have created a firestorm within our hearts. “God’s peace” can arbitrate, directing these powerful emotions, bringing order back into our hearts.
This peace is a large component in the secret Paul had learned and sought to give to us.
With this umpire, Paul could be “content in every situation.” He knew how to “be brought low or abound.” He had “learned the secret” so that “in any and every circumstance,” he had peace and contentment. With this peace, Paul knew how to “face plenty or be hungry” and “to have abundance or need.” If we want to learn this secret, we need to give careful thought to the umpire that can take all our powerful emotions and calm them. We have all faced varying degrees of intense emotions like fear, desperation, anxiety, and despair as we fight the good fight and contend earnestly for the faith. If we can allow God’s peace to become the umpire and rule in our heart, we will then learn the secret to endure all these things with contentment and peace.
There are two very important Scriptures that will give us the ability to arbitrate and deal with these powerful emotions. The first is both a promise and a path. “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” (Isa. 26:3). God can keep us in “perfect peace.” We can have the contentment that no longer relies on external circumstances, but is based on God’s peace ruling and umpiring in our heart. There are two things we must do before we can learn this secret. First, we have to allow our minds to be “stayed on God.” The word “stayed” is a Hebrew verb that means “to lean upon, take hold of, uphold, rest, or support.” Since it is passive, it is not something we do, but something we must allow God to do. We allow God to do it when we trust Him. Without trust in God, the peace of God and the secret to be content will never be ours. This is what Peter meant when he said, “casting all your anxiety upon him, because he cares for you.” (1Pet. 5:7). When we work with God, this peace will rule and control.
When Daniel stood near the lions’ den and Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego stood before the fiery furnace, it was their trust in God that gave them peace and allowed them to lean on Him without question. They knew God had the power to deliver them and they knew that even if it was their time to die, God would still deliver them. This is the most difficult part of the secret: trusting God enough to let go and trusting Him without any doubt. We must believe with all our heart that no matter what circumstance we are facing, God is with us, cares about us, and will deliver us.
This is the heart of the promise God has made to each of us. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). Do we “know” and have we learned the wonderful secret that God already knows all the terrible experiences that those love Him and have been called will endure. As Paul later stated which was clearly the foundation of his secret to being content, “I am persuaded that...” nothing “can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.” (Rom 8:38-39).
When our heart is “stayed on,” “leaning upon,” and “resting for support” upon these fundamental truths, then the peace of God will become our umpire, and in whatever state we are in, we will have peace. This is what Paul learned and passed on to us. It is part of how we “work out our own salvation.” It is the fulfillment of what Jesus promised to leave with us, that will remove the emotions of fear or trouble.
The second passage that will give us the ability to arbitrate and deal with the powerful emotions that bring stress, conflict and pressure into our lives is equally important:
This is a conditional promise, which means only when we fulfill the conditions will the promise be granted. In order to allow God’s peace to become our umpire, we must not allow anxiety to remain festering within our hearts. While this is all we had before we were called, now we know that all things work together for good. Before we learn the secret, we have to wait for the outcome. If it is a favorable outcome, then our joy and peace is restored. But when our heart is stayed on Him because we trust Him, the peace of God begins to rule and umpire the moment we begin our prayers and supplications. As we cast this anxiety upon Him, lean on him, and trust Him, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding begins to guard and umpire our heart.
During this time with the pestilence that has turned our world upside down, is the peace of God umpiring? Are we casting all our anxiety upon Him? Do we need a good outcome before our peace returns, or do we believe that all things (even this) can work together for good for those who love God? It is a great time to exercise and work on these things. If we can’t feel peace under these circumstances, then we have yet to learn the secret to be content. But we must place the blame where it belongs. With all conditional promises, if it doesn’t work for us, we have not yet fulfilled all the conditions. The peace of God cannot guard our hearts if we don’t fulfill the conditions.
Though God promises and offers to give this peace, it is left to us to allow it to play umpire in our hearts or to overrule this umpire and be torn up with anxiety or frustration. God promises His peace can guard our thoughts and our hearts, but it is a conditional promise based not simply on His power, but also upon our compliance. We have to learn to allow the “umpire of peace” to cast all our anxiety upon Him. We must stop being continuously anxious and learn that through prayer and thanksgiving, His peace will guard our thoughts and our hearts.
Conclusion. When we are being persecuted, under heavy trials and sorrows, or walking through the valley of the shadow of death, His rod and staff can give us great comfort and peace. The fact that His power is “exceeding abundant above all that we ask or think,” that “He will never fail or forsake us” and that “all things work together for good to those who love God” can bring us great comfort and peace. They can overrule the surges of doubt and fear that boil up in our mind. It was this peace that gave Jesus the power to face the cross and Paul to face persecution and death. It is a peace that results from a trust that is so absolute and full that there is no room for our own wisdom or doubt, and therefore a solid umpire to help us sort through the upheavals of life.
Since the life of a Christian is described as those who “fight the good fight of the faith,” “wrestle against a spiritual host of wickedness,” “contend earnestly for the faith,” and “compete in the games,” there will be times when we too feel intense emotions. When such times come, we too will need a referee or umpire to bring order and peace to our hearts. The Holy Spirit chose the word “umpire” to describe what God gave to remove these powerful emotions.
- “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.” (Col. 3:15).
While the term rule has many meanings in English, in Greek the “brabeuo” is the “activity of the umpire whose office at the games is to direct, arbitrate and decide the contest.” Each Christian must learn how to use “the peace of God” as the umpire to guard against things spiraling out of control during times when circumstances have created a firestorm within our hearts. “God’s peace” can arbitrate, directing these powerful emotions, bringing order back into our hearts.
This peace is a large component in the secret Paul had learned and sought to give to us.
- “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” (Phil. 4:12).
With this umpire, Paul could be “content in every situation.” He knew how to “be brought low or abound.” He had “learned the secret” so that “in any and every circumstance,” he had peace and contentment. With this peace, Paul knew how to “face plenty or be hungry” and “to have abundance or need.” If we want to learn this secret, we need to give careful thought to the umpire that can take all our powerful emotions and calm them. We have all faced varying degrees of intense emotions like fear, desperation, anxiety, and despair as we fight the good fight and contend earnestly for the faith. If we can allow God’s peace to become the umpire and rule in our heart, we will then learn the secret to endure all these things with contentment and peace.
There are two very important Scriptures that will give us the ability to arbitrate and deal with these powerful emotions. The first is both a promise and a path. “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” (Isa. 26:3). God can keep us in “perfect peace.” We can have the contentment that no longer relies on external circumstances, but is based on God’s peace ruling and umpiring in our heart. There are two things we must do before we can learn this secret. First, we have to allow our minds to be “stayed on God.” The word “stayed” is a Hebrew verb that means “to lean upon, take hold of, uphold, rest, or support.” Since it is passive, it is not something we do, but something we must allow God to do. We allow God to do it when we trust Him. Without trust in God, the peace of God and the secret to be content will never be ours. This is what Peter meant when he said, “casting all your anxiety upon him, because he cares for you.” (1Pet. 5:7). When we work with God, this peace will rule and control.
When Daniel stood near the lions’ den and Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego stood before the fiery furnace, it was their trust in God that gave them peace and allowed them to lean on Him without question. They knew God had the power to deliver them and they knew that even if it was their time to die, God would still deliver them. This is the most difficult part of the secret: trusting God enough to let go and trusting Him without any doubt. We must believe with all our heart that no matter what circumstance we are facing, God is with us, cares about us, and will deliver us.
This is the heart of the promise God has made to each of us. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). Do we “know” and have we learned the wonderful secret that God already knows all the terrible experiences that those love Him and have been called will endure. As Paul later stated which was clearly the foundation of his secret to being content, “I am persuaded that...” nothing “can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.” (Rom 8:38-39).
When our heart is “stayed on,” “leaning upon,” and “resting for support” upon these fundamental truths, then the peace of God will become our umpire, and in whatever state we are in, we will have peace. This is what Paul learned and passed on to us. It is part of how we “work out our own salvation.” It is the fulfillment of what Jesus promised to leave with us, that will remove the emotions of fear or trouble.
- “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” (Jn. 14:27).
The second passage that will give us the ability to arbitrate and deal with the powerful emotions that bring stress, conflict and pressure into our lives is equally important:
- “In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7)
This is a conditional promise, which means only when we fulfill the conditions will the promise be granted. In order to allow God’s peace to become our umpire, we must not allow anxiety to remain festering within our hearts. While this is all we had before we were called, now we know that all things work together for good. Before we learn the secret, we have to wait for the outcome. If it is a favorable outcome, then our joy and peace is restored. But when our heart is stayed on Him because we trust Him, the peace of God begins to rule and umpire the moment we begin our prayers and supplications. As we cast this anxiety upon Him, lean on him, and trust Him, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding begins to guard and umpire our heart.
During this time with the pestilence that has turned our world upside down, is the peace of God umpiring? Are we casting all our anxiety upon Him? Do we need a good outcome before our peace returns, or do we believe that all things (even this) can work together for good for those who love God? It is a great time to exercise and work on these things. If we can’t feel peace under these circumstances, then we have yet to learn the secret to be content. But we must place the blame where it belongs. With all conditional promises, if it doesn’t work for us, we have not yet fulfilled all the conditions. The peace of God cannot guard our hearts if we don’t fulfill the conditions.
Though God promises and offers to give this peace, it is left to us to allow it to play umpire in our hearts or to overrule this umpire and be torn up with anxiety or frustration. God promises His peace can guard our thoughts and our hearts, but it is a conditional promise based not simply on His power, but also upon our compliance. We have to learn to allow the “umpire of peace” to cast all our anxiety upon Him. We must stop being continuously anxious and learn that through prayer and thanksgiving, His peace will guard our thoughts and our hearts.
Conclusion. When we are being persecuted, under heavy trials and sorrows, or walking through the valley of the shadow of death, His rod and staff can give us great comfort and peace. The fact that His power is “exceeding abundant above all that we ask or think,” that “He will never fail or forsake us” and that “all things work together for good to those who love God” can bring us great comfort and peace. They can overrule the surges of doubt and fear that boil up in our mind. It was this peace that gave Jesus the power to face the cross and Paul to face persecution and death. It is a peace that results from a trust that is so absolute and full that there is no room for our own wisdom or doubt, and therefore a solid umpire to help us sort through the upheavals of life.
- “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.” (Pr. 3:5-7)