Practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

² I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. ³ Indeed, true companion, I ask you also, help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement as well as the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹ As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

¹⁰ But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked an opportunity to act. ¹¹ Not that I speak from need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. ¹² I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. ¹³ I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my difficulty.

¹⁵ You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone; ¹⁶ for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. ¹⁷ Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek the profit which increases to your account. ¹⁸ But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. ¹⁹ And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. ²⁰ Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

²¹ Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. ²² All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.

²³ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

In our culture today there are many people, millions, both young and old, who struggle with anxiety. Our minds are like computers, we process and hold onto all the information we are given. The news media has learned that fear sells, that it is more beneficial and more profitable for them to focus on bad news than good news. Fear not only sells, but it is used for control by those who are in or seek to be in power.  Much of what we see on TV and in movies also deals in sickness, death and destruction. Is it any wonder then, that so many people have anxiety, that they are worried about the future?   In today’s text it says: Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.  The first step in overcoming fear and anxiety is to change our focus. It is not that we fail to recognize or acknowledge what is really happening. In Matthew 24:6-8;11-14 Jesus says: “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains… many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people. And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold. But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”    Those things must take place.  In spite of or because of all what is going on around us, we focus even more on what is good and on God. Fear is really the opposite of faith. It is believing more in what you don’t want than in what you do want. We need to choose to feed our faith rather than fueling our fear. In John 14:27 Jesus says: “Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.”  The more that we focus on God and His promises, the less fear we will have in our lives. Anxiety will be replaced by peace.  

The text says: I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. When we focus on God rather than the circumstances, our faith rises above our fears. Our learning to be content in Him, is the way to knowing His peace. Psalm 37:3-7 says: Trust in the Lord and do good; Live in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring out your righteousness as the light, And your judgment as the noonday. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.  We need to cultivate our faithfulness. The text said: practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.   It is not so much that we need to increase our faith. In Matthew 17:20 Jesus says:  “Truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”  It is our faithfulness that we need to cultivate and grow, our commitment to the Lord and our trusting in Him. We need to learn to wait on the Lord rather than worry about the world.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus… Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.