Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice. Let your forbearance be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4–7.
The word guard is well used here because the basic Greek word for guard is related to our English word “guardian” or “referee”: a custodian of a situation, one who watches over a fight. The peace of God “guards” your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. You need walls up to guard your heart and your thinking from the things that get to you and affect you day by day. You are told you can put up that guard for your heart and your mind. The peace of God that passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds and build up walls and protections. If we simply followed this principle, much personal ministry would be unnecessary, because we would be protected from assault.
Rejoice in the Lord always … It starts out in the imperative mood. What is meant by the imperative mood? It is a command. God commands certain things, but He does not command you to do something that you cannot do. It would be impossible for God to give a command in the Word without making available the grace to obey it. You who are grouches and complainers, who are always without any defense, Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice. If the Lord did not command that, I might think there was an excuse for our complaining and murmuring, but there is no excuse. “Rejoice in the Lord always” is a command!
Defeat has to be on your spirit before you can be defeated.
The heritage of a Christian is absolute victory, and it is only when his own spirit refuses the victory and accepts the defeat that defeat can actually come in. If I have victory in my spirit, I cannot have defeat in the circumstances of my life for long. Those circumstances can be very adverse, but I must accept the ominous thing that Satan is trying to do in my spirit before it can happen. When Satan hits you with everything He can, through thoughts, circumstances, and problems, if you accept them in your spirit, only then do they become yours.
We determine that we are going to rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice. Let your forbearance (patience) be known unto all men.… In nothing be anxious (another command—don’t be anxious about anything); but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God (with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving—you are refusing to be anxious).
I know this is right. I am continually aware of walking beside something like a big mountain of water. If I ever feared or allowed myself to worry about all the problems that face us, it would come down on me like a huge wave and wipe me out. So I look at it and rejoice in the Lord. I refuse to be anxious; consequently, disaster can never materialize as long as I am rejoicing. The moment that I begin to be anxious and fearful in my heart, the problems will then flood over me. I want the peace of God that passes all understanding to guard my heart and mind, to put up a wall against the flood. Nothing can hurt me or get to me; all I have to do is rejoice, refuse to worry, and commit it all to the Lord. By prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, I let my requests be made known unto God.
Casting all your anxiety upon Him, because he careth for you. I Peter 5:7. You can build spiritual walls in the Lord against all of the forces that would overwhelm you. It really works. Some have this secret working in their lives but are not conscious of the principle involved.
Do you find during periods when you are anxious in heart, that every evil thing befalls you? Your fears come upon you. All your defenses come down with your anxiety. Other times, when you are trusting God, you walk right through situations ten times worse, and they don’t even scathe you. You are the one who causes life to happen to you as it happens. If you will rejoice always, be anxious for nothing, commit everything to the Lord, and trust Him, the peace of God will guard your heart and your mind.