Rejoice
Today is a day you live each moment in the grace of God! Celebrate it!
We continue on our downhill journey to the end of this epistle. Paul is giving his final greetings and today we hear him speak to our hearts in a very direct way.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7
When Paul calls upon us to “Rejoice” and to do so “always” it can be confusing. We typically associate rejoicing with good times and even times of celebration. But Paul immediately turns his attention to the anxiousness we feel in our hearts. What Paul is directing our attention to is the truth that God is bigger than the problems we face in our lives and His promise is to be present with us. When He says “The Lord is near” he is speaking of God’s presence and promise.
It is easy to lose sight of the fact that God is present with us. When we face times of hardship and trial, or when our hearts are simply worried and hurting, we can feel so alone. There are even times when we cry out to God, and it feels like our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling of our room. Where is God when your life feels like it is in the toilet?
His promise is that He is with you and that He will never leave you. The problem is that we often live our lives as if we are in control. We direct everything and only turn to God when we happen to be in church or pray for our dinner. Then when a crisis occurs, and we cry out to God we can’t seem to find Him.
The truth is He is always present. He is yearning for a deeper relationship with you. A relationship in which you turn your life over to Him and allow Him to fill you, guide you, and use you. But most of us are control freaks. We want to be in charge and manage every aspect of our lives and then when either we mess it up or when life in this broken world impacts us, we want God to give us a quick fix.
The reason we feel anxious is that we have lost control, or at least the illusion of control because we were never really in control. He is God and His heart’s desire is to bless you as His child. But He will not force you to yield to Him. However, He is always present and waiting for us to turn to Him and often it is in the worst of circumstance that we find our deepest need for His presence and His love.
Paul is seeking to enable us to lift our eyes off the momentary circumstance of our lives and see God’s faithfulness to us. Jesus is our Savior because He died for us. God is our Father because Jesus has restored us to Him. The Spirit is our ever-present companion because He loves us and desires to bless us. In everything God is working to deepen His relationship with you and enable you to trust Him in good times and in difficult times.
Paul then says, by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God, and in this statement, he assures us that God is hearing our prayers. When we cry out from the pain in our hearts God’s heart is grieving with us. He is a loving Father and He does not want His child to hurt. But because life in this world is at times painful, we will hurt and in those times, we will cry out and His promise is to be present with us.
This does not mean God will give us a “quick fix.” Often the pain we are experiencing is the result of our own actions. And, like it or not, our actions have consequences. Yet, God is present even as we experience the pain of our own choices.
It is important for me to clarify that God has not brought about the pain you feel. He is not punishing you or causing you to suffer. As I said, He is a loving Father who draws close when we hurt. His promise is that He will enter into your pain with you and work to accomplish what is good for your life as you move through the pain and beyond to the days ahead. I know this sounds like little comfort in the moment, but His promise is true and He is faithful to work in all circumstances to bring blessings in your life.
It is because God is God and we are not, and the truth that God is good and loving toward His children that Paul can say, And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
I have been told by a dear friend as I have faced so many hardships in the past months to just “Let Go and Let God.” A truer statement has never been made. God is working in my life and in your life to accomplish what is best for each of us. As long as we seek to maintain control (be the god of our own lives) we will continue to make mistakes and bring more pain to our hearts. When we humble ourselves before God and yield our lives to Him, we will find that He gives us peace in our hearts because we have accepted that we are not in charge and we can’t fix it, whatever it is!
God is present and He is working to accomplish good for you. His heart is filled with love for you, and He is working to bless your life. If you feel anxious and you have no peace in your heart it is because you are trying to control everything you think is wrong. Let go and let God be God of your life and I promise, you will find your worry and anxiousness fade away and the peace of God will fill your heart.
May you be blessed,
Pastor Russ
We continue on our downhill journey to the end of this epistle. Paul is giving his final greetings and today we hear him speak to our hearts in a very direct way.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7
When Paul calls upon us to “Rejoice” and to do so “always” it can be confusing. We typically associate rejoicing with good times and even times of celebration. But Paul immediately turns his attention to the anxiousness we feel in our hearts. What Paul is directing our attention to is the truth that God is bigger than the problems we face in our lives and His promise is to be present with us. When He says “The Lord is near” he is speaking of God’s presence and promise.
It is easy to lose sight of the fact that God is present with us. When we face times of hardship and trial, or when our hearts are simply worried and hurting, we can feel so alone. There are even times when we cry out to God, and it feels like our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling of our room. Where is God when your life feels like it is in the toilet?
His promise is that He is with you and that He will never leave you. The problem is that we often live our lives as if we are in control. We direct everything and only turn to God when we happen to be in church or pray for our dinner. Then when a crisis occurs, and we cry out to God we can’t seem to find Him.
The truth is He is always present. He is yearning for a deeper relationship with you. A relationship in which you turn your life over to Him and allow Him to fill you, guide you, and use you. But most of us are control freaks. We want to be in charge and manage every aspect of our lives and then when either we mess it up or when life in this broken world impacts us, we want God to give us a quick fix.
The reason we feel anxious is that we have lost control, or at least the illusion of control because we were never really in control. He is God and His heart’s desire is to bless you as His child. But He will not force you to yield to Him. However, He is always present and waiting for us to turn to Him and often it is in the worst of circumstance that we find our deepest need for His presence and His love.
Paul is seeking to enable us to lift our eyes off the momentary circumstance of our lives and see God’s faithfulness to us. Jesus is our Savior because He died for us. God is our Father because Jesus has restored us to Him. The Spirit is our ever-present companion because He loves us and desires to bless us. In everything God is working to deepen His relationship with you and enable you to trust Him in good times and in difficult times.
Paul then says, by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God, and in this statement, he assures us that God is hearing our prayers. When we cry out from the pain in our hearts God’s heart is grieving with us. He is a loving Father and He does not want His child to hurt. But because life in this world is at times painful, we will hurt and in those times, we will cry out and His promise is to be present with us.
This does not mean God will give us a “quick fix.” Often the pain we are experiencing is the result of our own actions. And, like it or not, our actions have consequences. Yet, God is present even as we experience the pain of our own choices.
It is important for me to clarify that God has not brought about the pain you feel. He is not punishing you or causing you to suffer. As I said, He is a loving Father who draws close when we hurt. His promise is that He will enter into your pain with you and work to accomplish what is good for your life as you move through the pain and beyond to the days ahead. I know this sounds like little comfort in the moment, but His promise is true and He is faithful to work in all circumstances to bring blessings in your life.
It is because God is God and we are not, and the truth that God is good and loving toward His children that Paul can say, And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
I have been told by a dear friend as I have faced so many hardships in the past months to just “Let Go and Let God.” A truer statement has never been made. God is working in my life and in your life to accomplish what is best for each of us. As long as we seek to maintain control (be the god of our own lives) we will continue to make mistakes and bring more pain to our hearts. When we humble ourselves before God and yield our lives to Him, we will find that He gives us peace in our hearts because we have accepted that we are not in charge and we can’t fix it, whatever it is!
God is present and He is working to accomplish good for you. His heart is filled with love for you, and He is working to bless your life. If you feel anxious and you have no peace in your heart it is because you are trying to control everything you think is wrong. Let go and let God be God of your life and I promise, you will find your worry and anxiousness fade away and the peace of God will fill your heart.
May you be blessed,
Pastor Russ
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