Philippians 4:4-7 – Don’t let anxiety dominate

Paul had learned to rejoice in the Lord regardless of the circumstances that he was in.  What does it mean “to rejoice in the Lord?” It simply means to place the Lord at the center of one’s life. Like Paul, we must learn to focus on the Lord, not on the pain or the circumstances. The apostle knew this secret because he saw it in the Lord. The Lord Jesus, Who for the joy set before Him, looked away from the pain and endured the shame and suffering. Paul wanted the Philippians to find their delight and satisfaction in the Lord as well.  He knew that only then would they be able to keep the peace of God in their heart. So Paul called on them to focus on the Lord and find their joy in Him. Furthermore, this action must be a continual and consistent practice. So he called on the believers to rejoice in the Lord always.

In verse 5, he suggests that one should begin by making a decision to deal kindly with others. The word “let” suggests volition on the part of a believer. So he asked the believers to make a decision to deal with others gently. Isn’t it so true that a spirit of strife would bring discontentment, and a restless life devoid of peace? He further suggested that by keeping at the forefront of one’s mind that the Lord is near would enable a person to deal gently with others.

Paul went on to exhort believers not to entertain anxiety. In other words, believers should not allow anything to generate anxiety by thinking unnecessarily about them. Our feelings and emotions are often the end product of what our minds dwell upon all the time. Paul and the Philippians were in circumstances that humanly speaking would give them reasons to fret and worry. The apostle was arrested and awaiting trials and impending death. The church collectively was facing persecution from without as well as quarrels and dissensions from within. They had to contend with the false teachers and many other issues. Yet in the midst of all these trials, Paul called on them not only to rejoice and not fret but also to pray thankfully to God.

He wanted them to look away from the circle of concern and focus on the circle of influence. If they focused on the circle of concern they would just engage in an exercise in futility. Besides, worrying and fretting could not change the circumstances they were in. Rather than wasting energy worrying and fretting on something that they could not change, he strongly advocated that they spent time to pray instead. He told them to make their request known to God in prayer. Following Paul’s instruction, we believers should learn to make all requests known to God in prayer as we bring our specific needs before Him in supplication. But Paul tells us to come to the Lord in intercession with an attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving to the Lord. As we do so, we will find the peace of God, forming a fortress over our hearts and minds. That peace would guard our relationship and keep our knowledge of Christ intact. By knowledge, Paul was referring to the experience of relating with Christ.

How wonderful to know that we have a God who cares about every intimate detail of our lives. God has the capacity to help us. There is no problem too big that He cannot bear and there’s no matter too small that He does not care. Instead of fretting let’s start praying!