Philippians 4
To read this text CLICK HERE
Philippians 4:4-8, Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
In this final chapter of Paul's letter to the church at Philippi, he gives his dear friends some words of wisdom for enduring difficult circumstances. First, there is a command to rejoice. Notice it says nothing about rejoicing when things are good and lamenting when things are bad. Nope. It clearly says to rejoice ALWAYS. If our joy is found in Jesus Christ, then it is unchanging no matter our circumstances. This is certainly hard stuff. I might even say it's impossible except for the fact that Paul was writing this from prison and living it out! These weren't empty words. Think about people you have known personally who, because of their deep faith in Jesus, were able to experience joy and rejoice in the middle of terrible circumstances.
Then, Paul tells the Philippians to let their gentleness be evident to all. Gentleness is part of the fruit of the Spirit and is (or should be) an attribute of all Christ-followers. Gentleness involves being mild-mannered, kind, and selfless. Certainly, demonstrating gentleness would differentiate the Philippians from those around them. Think about gentleness today. How might being gentle show that we are different from the rest of our world, which if we are honest, tends to be loud, bold, and demanding of their own rights.
Next, there is a negative command - don't be anxious! As someone who has struggled with anxiety for years, this seems incredibly difficult. But we must read on. When anxiety strikes, pray with a spirit of gratitude. Then, the peace of God, which makes no sense without Jesus Christ, will guard your hearts and minds. Again, this is really hard. Anxiety can be overwhelming and all-consuming at times. But the presence of God is more powerful. We have to know this and believe it.
Finally, Paul implores the Philippian church to focus on things that are excellent and praiseworthy. For peace to occur, we have to focus on the things of God. How easy it is for the things of the world to dominate our thinking! This is certainly the danger of our 24-hour news cycle - it's all negative and sensational. While we need to know what is going on in the world, we don't need to ruminate on it. We need to ruminate on the things of God! I'm a big fan of turning off the news, limiting time on social media, and being very careful what kinds of things we mentally ingest. Instead, focus on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.
Let's pray...Almighty God, We live in a world that will gladly steal our peace. Help us focus on the things of Jesus - the beautiful things of Jesus - rather than the mess of this broken world. We need your peace, Lord. In Jesus' Name, Amen.