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 everything, 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. Philippians 4:4-7
There is a lot of stuff in this little passage but I think it all is linked together. I first looked up this passage because of verse 4 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" That’s such a great verse and I wanted to know what came after those words. I think the general message here is to focus on God rather than ourselves. Does rejoicing in God and focussing on God allow you to be more gentle to others? Or is that unrelated? We know that gentleness is a fruit of the spirit and a gift from God. Gentleness is a wonderful trait to have. Children respond better to gentleness than yelling and anger, or impatient behaviour from their parents. But not just children, adults too respond well to gentleness.
It is a comfort to know that if we give our anxieties to God in prayer we will have the peace of God. That makes it sounds so simple but I have a hard time giving my worries to God when they are so real to me. I instead usually think through the worry a hundred times which no doubt gets me upset after a while. I guess I find it difficult to do because even though I could give the anxiety to God in prayer, I still have to make a decision regarding the issue. I still have to live with the consequences of my actions. But at the same time I trust God to take care of me and provide for me. Somewhere there you hit a wall that doesn't let you go further toward talking to God. Somewhere in the worrying I do God doesn't seem so close and I feel like even if I try to give it to God, I still have to make a decision and I still have to do something about the issue so I still have to think about it which makes me worry. Other times, when the decision is not mine to make, i can easily give the anxiety to God in prayer because I'm not directly involved. I don't have to make any big decisions. Others are making the decision for me. But if we trust God he and give our concerns to him all the time he will take care of us and provide us with peace. It's like another verse that says put your burdons on me and take my yoke which is light. I hope to do less worrying and more constructive thought in the future. And give my anxieties to God for him to work out.
I also see Joy in this passage. Joy of seeing God's glory that can be rejoiced over. And joy that God is all powerful and provides us with peace that passes human understanding.
What do others see in this passage?
This passage reminds me that there is always something to give thanks for, there is good to every situation and that we can give thanks to God even in the darkest of times. In times of stress or loneliness there are things to rejoice and give thanks to God over.
ReplyDeleteI also see that God is always with us. He is just a distant God watching us from a distance, He is near. He is right beside me, going through all my trials and hardships with me and He is supporting me.
You're insights are very good, and right on. Well done.