Let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].

Colossians 3:15 AMP

Image courtesy of Vectorolie at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Can you walk in a peaceful state of mind when everything appears to be exploding in negativity around you? When perhaps your family life appears as if it’s in utter chaos, and your work life seems to be full of negative drama and toxicity?

Is the admonition that Paul expresses doable in those times? To let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ’s rule (act as an umpire continually)? No matter how bad things seem to get?

There are times when things seem to get out of control, when storms hit and our thinking runs amok with the threat of emotional turmoil getting out of hand. It’s easy at this point when things are going bad to become bitter and to think that you are a victim. That life and the people you associate with are doing you wrong, and it’s not fair how you are being wrongly treated.

I know that I have struggled many times in the arena of thought. More times than not, I have had anger at the ready. Spewing mean spirited words that have gone over the top. There have been times when I’ve jeopardized my health and the relationships of friends and loved ones, who unfortunately were collateral damage.

When I think of an umpire, I think of sports like football, or baseball. The umpires or referees are to keep the game going smoothly, and enforce the rules to allow the flow of the game to go as it was designed to. In this vein of thought, can the peace and soul harmony that comes from Christ’s rule, cause our minds to operate and perform to the perfection that we were designed to?

We have the the God given ability to think and choose. Our thoughts will produce our state of mind. Whether anger stays at the ready, or we walk in peace. Many times how we will act will be based on the thinking patterns that we’ve already built in our minds. If we don’t like the patterns, we can change them.

As he thinks in his heart, so is he.

Proverbs 23:7

You do have a choice in how you react. Are you going to allow the peace of God and soul harmony act as the umpire. We have a choice. We can follow Paul’s admonition if we so choose. It’s not easy. But we can choose. How we choose to think influences and produces our state of mind.

How can this be done? Our free will is not an illusion. We might not be able to control the circumstances, but, we can control our reactions to them. We can review our thoughts, and purposely connect to the vine which is Christ (John 15:1-5).

I would encourage you to believe that God is a God of love. God loves you dearly. If we allow our thoughts to wrap itself around that statement it can be enormously protective for us. Especially when we personalize  that love by saying “God loves me! His peace surrounds my heart and mind like a shield!”

When negative thoughts come and try and bombard you, choosing to roll your cares upon the Lord, and telling the thoughts “No! You will have no place in my mind! His peace surrounds my heart and mind like a shield, because He loves me with a deep deep love.” If we do this with a heart of gratefulness and thanksgiving, this confession of faith can go along way to ensuring that peace acts like an Umpire on our behalf.

In closing Dr. Leaf states this:

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not see.” Whatever you believe in and hope for becomes substance on a physical level, and you act upon this. The process can move in either direction – negative or positive.

Choose to move in the positive.

Switch On Your Brain: The Key To Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health, (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2013), 39 – 54