Philippians 4:4-7 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 our hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Okay I just have to dive straight into these verses. I have written about verse 6 & 7 before but then I noticed verses 4 & 5 and just had to dive into these because I truly don't think we get it. Oh we may have these verses memorized, we may have them written out to remind us not to worry, but I think we just don't fully grasp what Paul is saying here. I truly think many of us prefer to worry and fret about our problems. I truly believe that there are many out there who are reading this think that worry is just a way of life. Really?????
I am trying not to offend anyone and if I do, I am sorry but I have to be real and I have to be honest. Read these verses again! It starts out with saying that we should rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS!!!! Not just when things are going our way, not just when our prayers have been answered, not just when life is sweet. ALWAYS means ALWAYS!!! Yes even in times of trouble, we should rejoice. Even when a family member is going through a divorce or separation, even when the diagnosis is not good, even when the creditors are knocking at your door. I know it's hard to rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS, but if Paul can write this and mean this while he was in prison surrounded by raw sewage, surely we can learn to rejoice ALWAYS. Can't we?
Gentleness? How many of us actually sound or appear to be gentle? Honestly, take a look in the mirror and ask people around you if they think you're gentle, if you are willing to face the truth. I know the truth hurts, trust me. We believers, argue and bicker and whine and moan about our different denominations. We drive out church parking lots and onto the highways and our road rage takes over. We finger point and gossip then wonder why no one listens to us when we talk about Jesus Christ. Really??
DON'T WORRY, DON'T BE ANXIOUS! "Yea, get real God! Haven't you heard the news or read the papers? This world is crazy and you seriously expect me not to worry?" YES HE DOES! Worry is like putting a down payment on something that may never happen. It destroys our health, it destroys families, it destroys everything. Worry is pointless and quite frankly- dumb! Listen, if God wanted us to worry, why would we need Him? Worry tells God we don't trust Him to handle things. Worry tells God we don't rely on Him. Worry tells God we don't believe that He can help us. If God could balance the sun in the sky and the stars at night, don't you think He may just be able to help you out? Stop Worrying and Start Living!!!
Prayer, with THANKSGIVING! Now there's an idea, actually thanking God. Oh we can be totally awesome prayer warriors. We have our list of wants and needs, we have our desires and we pray them every night. Sometimes we pray them day and night, over and over and over. Then we complain because God hasn't answered our prayers. We even yell and scream, "God why haven't you answered my prayers? Where are you God? Don't you hear me? Don't you love me? Do you really exist?" Now come on I know that some of you out there have prayed this way. We ask and ask and ask and ask, but have you stopped and thanked God recently? Have you thanked Him for all you do have instead of always asking Him for what you want?
PEACE THAT TRANSCENDS UNDERSTANDING! Wouldn't we all want that? A peace so deep and rare that it cannot be explained? Is that possible? YES!!! Once we stop worrying and begin thanking God, that peace is possible. Once we start being gentle with our words and actions and once we begin to rejoice ALWAYS! Listen I totally get it that life sometimes just out and out sucks! We watch movies with happy endings and we curse the movie because happily ever after never happens, or at least to us it doesn't. If this is your belief and you believe in Jesus Christ, you are totally wrong! Because with Jesus Christ as our Savior, we have a happily ever after ending to our movie, we have eternity.
I have my happily ever after because Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I rejoice in Him Always. I do my best to always be gentle and I pray with thanksgiving. Because of me living this way (most of the time) I have a peace that I cannot explain. I know one thing, this life is only temporary, eternity is forever. Join me in experiencing this peace.
Lord, I thank you for this wonderful world you created. Thank you for the many blessings you have given me, like indoor plumbing, clean drinking water, food to eat, clothes to wear, and a roof over my head. I surrender my worry and all m anxious thoughts to you, in Jesus name I pray, amen.
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