Are you holding onto the promises of God's presence and peace?
What are you grateful for today?
"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 every situation, 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 minds in Christ Jesus."
(Phillippians 4:4-7)
These verses have spoken to me often. I've turned to them in many situations where things didn't seem to be going as planned.
When I opened my Bible to read this afternoon, this was the passage that was next. I struggled with the first couple sentences today. If I'm honest, I don't really feel much like rejoicing in anything these days.
But, as I stopped and sat with these familiar verses for a while, I was challenged and encouraged by what God was speaking to me through them. And, while all of what I'm about to say might be familiar to us. I think it's important to remind ourselves of it right now.
Paul isn't talking about rejoicing because our circumstances make sense or things are good. Paul is talking about rejoicing in the Lord. We can rejoice in the Lord because He is God and He is good and He is faithful and He is unchanging. Sometimes, this is a choice. We may not feel like rejoicing in anything, but we choose to praise God for Who He is regardless of our circumstances.
There are promises we can hold onto in this passage:
1) The Lord is near. He has not left us or forgotten us. We can be sure that He is walking through everything that's going on with us.
2) We can have the peace of God to guard our hearts and minds. This isn't a peace based on circumstances, because our circumstances may not be peaceful yet we can still have peace. It's a peace because God is with us. He gives us His peace, which goes beyond anything we can understand in our humanness.
Even though I know these promises are true, I wondered how we can find the peace to replace our anxieties and fears. I wondered how we can live in the reality of these promises instead of the fear and anxiety that comes so easily right now.
In the middle of these verses, we're told we can take everything to God in prayer. He can take it all. But, I think there's two important words in the middle of the instruction to take everything that makes us anxious and afraid to God. Two words that will help us to change our perspective.
What are they?
With Thanksgiving
This changes our perspective. In the midst of fear and anxiety, when we choose to look for things we can be thankful for it changes so much for us. It shifts our focus from all that is wrong, all we're fearful and anxious about, to the good things in the midst of it all.
I was challenged today to be more intentional about things to be grateful for each day. To take the time every day to write down at least three things I'm thankful for from that day.
As I did that today, it didn't remove the current reality. Nothing has changed in our world. But, what I was seeing changed and I was moved to worship, because the God we serve is good and faithful and constant and loving.
Maybe you're struggling with all that's going on too. Can I challenge you? Take a few minutes at the end of the day and write down three things you're thankful for from the day. Look for the good in the midst of the fear and uncertainty of the world.
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