PHILIPPIANS 4
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Rejoice!” (v4). Paul echoes the voices of the Psalms in encouraging us to verbalise and harmonise our praise to the Lord. Spoken and sung praise and thanksgiving is a vital part of our worship and devotion. Do it corporately and individually; do it regularly – do it all the time. Just do it!
Are you an anxious person? The antidote to anxiety is persistent prayer, petition (asking), mingled with thanksgiving. “Cast those anxieties on the Lord” – as Peter said (1 Peter 5:7) – because He is stronger than you are. If you do this, then you will also receive the ‘Shalom’ or ‘Peace’ of God. This is something way beyond psychological wellbeing; it is a tranquillity of the spirit that goes even beyond the rational mind. You might as well be in the middle of a tropical storm and yet reclining in the sunshine at its centre. That’s the peace of God!
Thoughts are the food of the mind – and you become what you feed your mind on. Therefore, Paul says: “…Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things” (v8). The way we choose to think (and, yes, it is a free choice!) is eventually the way we begin to live; you are what you eat, as the saying goes.
Paul is also so confident that he is following the mind of the Spirit in his daily life that he commands his readers: “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me – put it into practice”. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all say that with a clear conscience!
V12-13: I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. The secret of contentment is great gift from God and its presence in our lives and attitudes indicates that our trust in Him is rock-solid!
The remainder of this chapter seems to be an extended ‘thank you’ letter; the church at Philippi was generous in spirit and took the initiative in its generosity. We need both to be effective. Paul clearly differentiates between his need to receive their gift and their need to give it. From God’s point of view, their gift is something that He credits to their spiritual bank account! As a result of their generosity, God will meet all their needs too – earthly and heavenly.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit!
JEREMIAH 6
“They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace’, they say, where there is no peace” (6:14). What the Lord says to them and to us is: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for you souls” (6:16). For some of us who are sniffing out the latest spiritual ‘fashion’, we need to hear this; God may be ‘doing a new thing’, but there are principles of walking with him that are as old as the ancient hills.
Principles of good relationship never change, and most ‘fashion-faddists’ are running away from ‘relationship’. We need to look for an ancient road, well worn, many times walked on, that has been laid down by some of the great builders; and then we too need to walk on it. That is the way to find true rest for our souls. The latest ‘fad’ is generally a distraction.
The Big Picture 