Rejoice Always

We are working through Paul’s letter to the Philippians on Sunday mornings in a series titled ‘Joy No Matter What.’ We are nearing the end of the letter, and would you believe that we would just happen to be at the one place in the letter where Paul talks about “thanksgiving”!

These are some of our most-loved words in Scripture. They are timeless words, simple and beautiful, that speak just as profoundly to us as they did to the church in Philippi.

Philippians 4:4–9 ESV

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 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. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

It’s Fall, Y’all!

For many of us this is our favorite time of year: color change, pumpkin spice, Christmas music, hunting season, and we’ve already had snow! But for many of us, we are entering into the hardest time of the year: feeling anxious, lonely, sad, depressed.

You don’t need to be ashamed of these feelings. And I hope that you will reach out to someone: a friend, a minister, a counselor or doctor. God often uses each of those to help us in such struggles.

To different degrees, we all struggle with being anxious and go through times when rejoicing doesn’t come easy. It is in these times that we most need this text. Let’s take note of a few things:

Philippians 4:4–7 ESV

1. Christians have cause for rejoicing in the Lord, always.

We need reminded, because sometimes all we can see is the worry and the fears, the struggle, the obstacles, the grief. But the gospel declares this great truth: The Lord is at hand. (He is nearby and he is coming again).

2. Our attitude and state-of-mind can rise above our situation.

Kindness displacing retaliation in our actions. “Reasonableness/gentleness” referred then to an attitude of kindness when retaliation was expected (to rise above the situation).

Peace displacing anxiety in our hearts and minds. Paul gives us a military image of “the peace of God” standing guard over our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. How do we come to have such a state of mind? Talk to God about everything… with thanksgiving.

“Pray, and let God worry.”

Martin Luther put it this way. Peter said: Cast all your anxieties on God because he cares for you (1 Pet. 5:7). When Jesus taught on anxiety, he pointed to the birds and the flowers: God cares for them, and yet so much more for you.

So Paul says: talk to God. Bring to him all your concerns and needs and hurts and worries. And bring him also your gratitude. Not because God needs it (and not just because he is worthy of it), but because a growing awareness of God’s care for us fosters an unanxious heart—it fosters trust.

Isaiah 26:3 ESV

3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

There is unwavering peace when an uncertain tomorrow is trusted to an unchanging God. - Ann Voskamp

Some of our ladies have been studying a book by Ann Voskamp. One of the things she writes about is her experience of making a list God’s gifts as she becomes aware of them. Whether you write out a list or not, the action of giving thanks in all circumstances is meant to hand-in-hand with bringing to him every anxiety and request.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 ESV

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Think On These Things

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to start our Thanksgiving with this list that Paul gives us to think on—giving thought to truths we are grateful for, the honorable and pure and lovely things in life.

Philippians 4:8–9 ESV

8 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. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Notice that he talks about thought and action—thinking and practicing. It’s the idea of occupying your mind with God-worthy thoughts and practicing in daily life the Christlike ways that have been modeled for us.

What thoughts occupy your mind? What we allow to occupy our mind shapes our attitude and our actions. A disciplined thought life is not simply the absence of bad things; it is focused thinking on God-worthy things.

So, we might put it his way: To have a state-of-mind that rises above your situation, we need to (1) talk to God and (2) talk to ourselves.

In a leadership book by Jon Gordon, he talks about a conversation he had with Dr. James Gills:

Dr. James Gills is the only man in the world to have completed six Double Iron triathlons (two triathlons back to back in 36 hours). When asked how he did it, he said, “I’ve learned to talk to myself instead of listen to myself.” He memorized scripture and would recite it to himself when he needed a boost. Gills continued, “If I listen to myself, I hear all the reasons why I should give up. I hear that I’m too tired, too old, too weak to make it. But if I talk to myself, I can give myself the encouragement and words I need to hear to keep running and finish the race.”

We need to listen less to the our worries and fears, our desires, our disappointments, and all the reasons we have for quitting. Instead we need to tell ourselves what is true in Christ. We need to talk to ourselves about all that God calls excellent and just and honorable. We need to remind ourselves of everything lovely and pure and praiseworthy: God’s promises, God’s graces, and God’s ways.

Conclusion

As we enter this holiday season, particularly if these times effect feelings of loneliness, sadness, anxiety and depression in you, let’s carve out some time (1) to talk to God (about everything with thanksgiving) and (2) to talk to ourselves (occupying the mind with God-worthy thoughts). And, as Paul says, “the God of peace will be with you.”

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