Day 24
Philippians 4:1-9 NIV
1 Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!
2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, 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. 9 Whatever 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.
On to chapter 4 of the Letter to the Philippians. I want to begin today with verse 6 where Paul tells us how to avoid anxiety. Anxiety, worry, fear and many other areas of mental fatigue plague the church today. Paul hits on the answer to all these issues, prayer. He says "in everything", that's right prayer in every situation is the answer. He says pray the prayer of petition with thanksgiving while presenting our requests to God. Have you ever been right in the middle of an issue and you knew God had given you the victory. At times like that we can begin to thank God although there is no evidence of our deliverance. Paul is taking this one step further, he is saying pray with thanksgiving always! Present your request and then by faith thank God for the answer. We might as well because without God there is no answer! He proceeds in verse 7 with "and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." So when we pray in faith, thanking God for the answer we can then rest peacefully and no longer worry! This is difficult to learn but when we truly "cast our cares" we don't have to carry them any longer. We give them to God and He can certainly deal with any issue we give to Him. This requires trust. This overwhelming peace is beyond our understanding. It is the kind of peace that non-believers cannot understand. When they see us resting in peace in the midst of a battle they see our confidence in our Father. This peace "will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" there is the answer to much of our mental anguish trusting in God and giving Him our cares, big or small.
"Finally, brother, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable" think about these things. Our thought life can control us but it wasn't meant to be that way. The bible tells us we have the mind of Christ. When we renew our minds daily with the Word of God our faith is built up and we can overcome the negatives. Thinking and meditating on God's Word is encouraging and transforming.
2 Corinthians 10:5 ...and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Paul ends this section with put into practice what you have seen me do. Walking in the Word is our answer, it brings about such a peace and enables us to trust in God.
Many years ago shortly after Gena and I were saved we faced one of the biggest tests of our lives. Gena was pregnant with Sarah our third daughter when the doctor reported to her that the pregnancy would have to be aborted. She called me very upset and told me the news. I was working that day but knew I needed to go home and be with her. As I was standing outside overcome with emotions and thoughts of hopelessness I knew I needed to pray but didn't have any words to pray. Finally, I cried out Jesus! I repeated that name over and over and suddenly a peace came over me. That moment gave me strength and confidence as I went home to try and comfort Gena. Later that evening our Pastor came over and prayed with us. As Gena went back to the doctor later in the week she was told she was having a perfectly normal pregnancy. We didn't know God's Word like we do today, we didn't know any eloquent prayers to pray, we weren't noted people of great faith. All we knew was that Jesus cared and God understood the love we had for our child. In our immaturity and despair God accepted a prayer as simple as "Jesus help me". While we may be more mature in our faith and know and understand God's Word better today there are still times when all we can do is cry out Jesus help me. That cry always seems to work. It is because of this that I can focus on the goodness of God and think on these things. Take your thoughts captive and remember all the great things God has done. Try it and see if you don't find peace even in the storm.
Blessings,
Pastor Larry
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