During my wife’s recent pregnancy, and now since our daughter has been born, I’ve found my protective instinct getting stronger. I have always been a very sound sleeper, but while my wife was pregnant I never slept as well as I did before. I’m sure there are several reasons for that, but I think one reason is that I always wanted to be “on the alert;” I always wanted to make sure that she was doing okay. But ironically, I have become a sound sleeper again now that our baby has actually been born! It’s funny how that happens…
But as I think about trying to protect my daughter, I find myself thinking, “What kind of world are we bringing her into? What kind of world will she face in twenty, thirty, forty, or even fifty years?” As I think about questions like that, it becomes very easy to worry, and to have a feeling of pessimism wash over me.
It seems today that many American Christians are dealing with those exact same feelings. We look at our society and we sense a general decline in morality and godly behavior, and we become worried. We watch the news, and we become frightened. We listen to the cultural commentators and we feel anxious about what tomorrow has in store.
It can all add up to a general anxiety or fear about life that’s kind of like a nagging cold—its not bad enough to keep you down, but it just keeps hanging around. Philosophers refer to this general feeling of anxiety as “angst.” Angst is not the fear of a specific threat, like the way that you would be afraid of a dog chasing you. Rather, it is a general dread or uneasiness about the world and how you will make your way through the world.
If I could check the spiritual health of Christians in America today, I think I would find a lot of people dealing with angst. But its probably no surprise to you that the Bible tells us that things don’t have to be this way. We don’t need to be dogged by doubts or fatigued by fear. But what should characterize us instead?
What traits should characterize our lives at all times and in every circumstance?
That’s the question before us today as we look at God’s Word together. Turn with me, please, to Philippians 4:4–7. Paul has just dealt with a very specific situation facing the Christians in Philippi, and he told them what to do to handle it. Now in 4:4–7, it seems that he turns his thoughts back toward the general life setting that the Philippians found themselves in. You might remember that these believers were under persecution at the time that Paul wrote to them. Back in 1:27–30, Paul mentioned some opponents who had brought suffering and conflict into their lives. So considering their situation, what traits were to characterize the lives of the Philippians—not only in that situation, but at all times? Let’s find out [READ 4:4–7].
I. A joyful attitude born out of our relationship with God (v. 4)
Paul’s repeated commands to rejoice might sound like a broken record if they weren’t so sweet to our ears! Here in v. 4 he issues this command again and says, “Rejoice in the Lord when things are going well, and complain when they’re not.” Wait…you mean that’s not the biblical approach? Then why do Christians take that approach so often? Hmm…that’s funny.
No, Paul says “rejoice in the Lord always.” Remember, he wrote these words to people who were being persecuted for their faith! He didn’t say, “rejoice in the good ol’ days;” he said, “rejoice in the Lord always.” Then he repeated his command: “again I will say, rejoice!” The verb that Paul used here is in the future tense, so it’s like he’s saying, “I’ve said it today, and I’ll say it again tomorrow—rejoice!” Every day that we receive from God is a day in which we can rejoice—every day without exception.
Now of course, this can only be true if we remember the source and the object of our joy, which Paul spells out for us here. He says, “rejoice in the Lord.” Our joy comes in light of our relationship with Jesus. That’s why we can rejoice every day! Hebrews 13:8 says “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever,” so his love for us and his promises to us never change. That’s why we can rejoice in the midst of changing circumstances—because we have this constant in our lives!
So we may not always rejoice over our circumstances, but we can rejoice in our circumstances because the Lord never changes. But this reminds us that we must allow Jesus to be the delight of our hearts. We must not derive our primary pleasure from our circumstances, our possessions, or even our human relationships because they are all subject to change, and if they do they will take our joy with them.
But delighting in Jesus will allow us to be joyful people no matter how other things may change around us. To quote the author of Hebrews again, the hope we have in Jesus is “an anchor for the soul” (Heb. 6:19) to keep us from being tossed about every time the winds of circumstance may change. A joy that is grounded in the Lord is a joy unshakeable!
And so we should, at all times and in every circumstance, be characterized by a joyful attitude born out of our relationship with God. And second, we should be characterized by…
II. A gentle spirit toward all people (v. 5)
In v. 5, Paul simply says, “Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.” We must recognize here that Paul once again offers no exceptions to his command—just as we are to rejoice always, without exception, so we are also to be gentle to all people, without exception. The word that is translated as “gentle” here speaks of being patient with the faults of others, or acting reasonably toward others even if they act unreasonably toward us. Remember that Paul was writing these words to people who were suffering persecution. A situation like that could easily breed thoughts of revenge and retaliation, so this command was very fitting for their situation.
Notice also that he gives this command in light of another reality—the return of Christ. At the end of v. 5 he simply reminds them that “the Lord is near.” His point seems to be that there is no need for them to take matters into their own hands by seeking retaliation, because the Lord Jesus is coming back, and He will make all things right. There is no need for us to respond to others with vindictiveness because God will make all things right.
Not surprisingly, our best example of this behavior is the Lord Jesus himself. Peter makes this point in 1 Peter 2:21–23. Just before these verses, Peter wrote about submitting to the government and doing what is right as citizens, and then he wrote to slaves telling them to be submissive even to unreasonable masters. Then he wrote this, beginning in v. 21 [READ 1 Peter 2:21–23]. That really is the key—when we entrust our lives to God, we don’t have to worry about taking matters into our own hands, because God will sort everything out and see to it that perfect justice is achieved.
Now, commands like this—to be gentle to all people—sound somewhat crazy to our modern ears. It’s easy for us to think, “Sure…an approach like that may have worked back then, but it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there today! I’ll get walked all over if I respond to people like that today!” When we think like that, we rather naively and ignorantly assume that we’re living in conditions today that no one has ever faced before. We are all also quietly suggesting that God doesn’t really understand the human heart if He’s going to ask us to do something like this.
But the heart is much like our bones—both will break if they are surrounded by gentleness. In a healthy person, our bones are hardened as we walk around and work. When our legs are constantly confronted by the hardness of the pavement or the ground beneath our feet, our bones compress with each step and grow harder. But when a person is bed-ridden for long periods of time, their bones become fragile and will break much more easily because they’ve been so long in the soft and gentle environment of the bed.
Our hearts are very similar. When we are consistently confronted by hard-heartedness in other people, our hearts tend to become hardened as well. But when our hearts encounter gentleness and patience, they tend to soften, and the hardness in our hearts breaks down. That’s why God asks us to respond in this way, because gentleness can actually lead to the end of hostility between people.
By the way, this is a good lesson for parents to remember. If we are constantly hard on our kids, we’ll often harden their hearts against us. If we’re always critical of them or impatient with them, they will usually just grow to resent us. But if we will balance our discipline with gentleness, we’ll give them not only the correction that they need, but our gentleness will give them an affection for us that makes them want to obey. That’s easier said than done, isn’t it? But it’s what we must strive for.
So at all times and in every circumstance we should be characterized by a joyful attitude, a gentle spirit, and…
III. A peace of mind sustained by prayer (vv. 6–7)
Many of you have probably memorized the words that Paul wrote in verses 6–7. He says, [READ vv. 6–7] Such a beautiful promise of the peace of mind that we can have through prayer. Let’s see how we can get there.
We see first that Paul again offers a command with no exceptions. He says, “be anxious for nothing.” There is no situation in which anxiety should overwhelm us. Will it tempt us? Certainly; but we should allow anxiety to settle in our hearts no longer than we would allow a thief to settle in our homes. That’s what anxiety is—a thief. It steals our peace of mind, our trust in God, and sometimes even our sleep and our physical health.
But what’s the difference between anxiety and just thinking about something a lot? How can we know if we’re giving proper thought to our problems, or if we’re worrying about them? It’s interesting to note that the Greek word that is translated “be anxious” is actually used elsewhere as a positive frame of mind. In fact, Paul uses it in 2:20 when he says of Timothy, “I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.” In that verse it is clearly a positive frame of mind.
So I think this tells us that anxiety is simply a good thing gone bad. It’s a healthy thoughtfulness that’s become diseased. Anxiety is like spoiled food—it comes from something that used to be good for you, but now its just rotten. But how do we know when we’ve crossed the line? Well, our emotional response often tells us, doesn’t it, as we start to feel stressed out and sick? Our ability to think about other things will usually tell us as well. If we find ourselves unable to set those thoughts aside in order to focus on other necessary things, then we’ve crossed the line into the realm of anxiety.
The cure for this malady of the mind is to prayerfully ask God for what we need with an attitude of thanksgiving. Paul says that with “prayer and supplication” we should let our requests be made known to God. “Prayer” is a more general term that encompasses everything we might do in prayer, such as praising God, confessing sin, or making requests. “Supplication” is a more specific word that focuses on offering specific requests to God for the things that we need.
So in order to overcome anxiety, we are to pray to God with specific requests for the things that we need, and we are to do it all with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is so powerful for overcoming anxiety because it reminds us about how good God has been to us in the past. In order to say “thank you” we have to identify specific blessings that God has already given us, and when our minds start down that path, we start to remember how faithful God has been to meet each and every one of our needs.
The result of this kind of prayer is that God’s peace becomes a shield of protection for our emotions and our thoughts. Paul says that God’s peace will “guard” us. The Greek word behind that translation can also be used to describe a garrison of soldiers keeping watch over a city. So God’s peace is like a divine warrior, fighting off the arrows of anxiety that Satan shoots at us. And this peace is one that passes all comprehension; it is beyond our ability to understand. How many times in your life have you seen someone amazed by the way they’ve seen a Christian handle bad news? I don’t envy doctors when they have to tell patients that they’re dying, but I’ve heard so many stories about doctors who have been led to praise God because of the incomprehensible peace that their patients have received from Him. When our minds run wild with worry, the peace of God can tame even the most stubborn doubts and fears.
Rejoice in the Lord always; let your gentle spirit be known to all men; be anxious for nothing. There is no situation that you might face where joy, gentleness, and peace cannot be yours. Rejoice in the Lord; let your gentle spirit be known for the Lord is near; in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. God can carry you through the deepest valleys in your life—center your joy in Him, remember His return, and go to Him with your needs. You will not be disappointed!
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