Philippians 4-5.25.22

Scripture

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.

Observation-What does it say?

The book of Philippians is known as the book of joy. Why? Because the Apostle Paul wrote it, while in prison.  Through a less than ideal circumstance, he was able to keep his faith, peace and joy in the Lord.

Understanding-What does it mean?

Joy is not dependent on our circumstances.

Paul suffered, not because he did anything wrong, but because of his faith in Jesus. Paul was unfairly imprisoned for his faith and could have easily felt victimized by his situation, but instead, he prayed and petitioned the Lord. He kept his focus on Christ Jesus.

Life Application

Who we put our focus on matters, especially in times when we don’t understand. The peace of God truly transcends understanding (vs. 7).

Most of us should have heard the news by now of the very horrific and tragic shooting yesterday at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

I heard the news from Air1 radio while I was in the car driving to pick up my kids from school, after a kids church meeting with Joni! As a parent and teacher myself, I was (and still am) very heartbroken and I grieve with that community. : (

How can we find hope and peace in these types of situations that we don’t understand? Can grief and prayer/worship happen at the same time? Yes, it can.  Paul’s example in his less than ideal and unfair imprisonment situation is proof of that because he kept his focus on Christ.

As Pastor Levi’s note said yesterday, “We must understand that Jesus is our only hope.”

We will be having a time of worship and prayer for our country tonight at 7pm. Please join us!

-Michelle Gaddi