"Rejoice"

Philippians 4:4-9

 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 every situation, 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 and sisters, 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.

Many years ago, there was a book written by Frank Foglio called Hey God. And it talks about this family that had ten children and how they were very poor. In fact, they were so poor that the poor people called them poor.

Then one day the Lord showed up in their lives, in the form of another, equally poor, equally large family. This family evangelized to them and the book shows how Mama Foglio began to understand the riches of her spiritual Father and to rely
on them. It is a powerful witness of what happens when we hand our anxiety over to God and begin to pray.

There are times when anxiety or fear can be paralyzing, and even though we know that to be true, we still go down that path. I love it that Paul, from a prison cell, reminds us to stay focused on the Lord and “rejoice always.”

He reminds us that conversation with God is important. He reminds us that we are a witness to others when we learn to lean on God rather than our anxieties. He also reminds us to remind ourselves of what is true: God’s provision is always ours. As we change our thinking, we remember that through Jesus we have full access to the Father, who hears all our requests and gives us all that we need. And we inherit his peace, which “transcends all understanding.”

Lord, we rejoice that you are always with us. Thank you for peace and for all the riches you give us. Amen.