Rejoice

Paul, writing from a Roman prison to the first church in Europe he planted, gave the following encouragement, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:4-9)

Paul connects two postures of heart that are diametrically opposed to one another; trust and worry. If we invert the text, presenting it in its photo-negative, we can reveal what happens in our hearts when we are worrying. A kind of anti-Philippians 4.

“Fear, fear in your circumstances always; again I will say, be afraid. It is completely reasonable that you feel this way. The Lord is nowhere to be found and I have reason to worry, I’ve learned that my prayers don’t go anywhere or do anything. God’s peace is absent and I am left here out in the open with no idea where to find safety.”

With God not in the picture, a life of worry, dis-ease, and fear makes complete sense. This is why the fight against anxiousness is at the same time the fight for trust. And in order to trust we have to remember. This is why Paul exhorts the Philippians to “think on these things.” And what are these things? They are the praiseworthy, commendable, lovely, pure, just, honorable, works and character of God who loves us and gave His Son for us. When we fight in faith to remember God’s past provision and God’s past protection, we are able to have hope when we think about our future rather than dread.

Put another way: trust and unbelief will not coexist in the same moment. This doesn’t mean that we won’t have to sing through our fears, or worship through our worries, it simply means that in the presence of worries, we can choose to put our trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding. 

We can remember His love poured out for us in Jesus and the Holy Spirit who has been poured into our hearts and be grateful. We can remember His gentle and lowly heart and the goodness He has shown as He has shepherded us through our lives. We really can be anxious for nothing, praying for all that we need, and offer up songs of thanksgiving as we lay our requests at His feet. As we do our hearts and minds really will be guarded in Christ Jesus.

We really can, as we remember and rehearse His gospel, tell of His wonderful works among the nations, being ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, that the darkness cannot destroy.

So, with every breath that He’s given, praise the Lord.
In every time and season, praise the Lord.
 

Rejoice…Rejoice…Practice what you have learned and seen in Holy Scripture and in the followers of Jesus around you. And as you do, the God of peace will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Amen.