Daily Bread 2010 - Philippians 4

4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8Finally, brothers, 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. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. 10I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

While Philippians is one of my favorite books of the NT, this chapter is my favorite within this letter to the church of Philippi. Often Philippians has been called the letter of “joy” and these verses today reveal how Paul can not only talk about it, but live it out as well.

First Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!” “Rejoice” is a another variation for the term “joy”, meaning to have or exhibit joy. And Paul adds an important qualifier when he says, “always”. You say, “Wait a minute, how can I always have joy, you don’t know my circumstances!” But it is important that Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord”. The source of our joy is the Lord, it doesn’t necessarily come from within us or from our circumstances.

Then, Paul gives us another way to achieve this goal. He acknowledges that we will have “anxiety”, but when we have it we should pray and make our requests known to God. He is saying when you feel anxious about something don’t let it eat you up, but let God know about it. And then he makes an incredible promise. When we pray, the peace of God (not our peace!), which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The term for “guard” is the same term used for a “military sentry guarding a position.

Finally, Paul gives us another prescription for being able to rejoice in the Lord always. On top of praying and receiving God’s unexplainable peace despite our trials and tribulations, Paul tells them to think about things which are: true, noble and right; pure, lovely and admirable. So one can conclude that what you think about will affect your peace and joy.

Paul shares that he has learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. Whether he is in plenty or in want, hungry or well-fed, he states that He can do everything through Christ who gives him strength.

While most of the time we talk about being happy, peace and joy are deeper qualities that we can maintain even when things happen that would make most people unhappy. What are you anxious about today? Have you prayed about it and made your request known to God? Are you depressed by your circumstances? How does your thought life affect and exacerbate how you let the things that happen to you determine your mood. May the Joy of the Lord be Your strength as you remember you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.

Dear Jesus as I draw near to you in prayer and my thought life I know you will draw near to me. Cleanse my thoughts and claim my anxieties as I surrender them to you. Help me to rely on Your peace which passes all understanding and may it guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus, Amen.