Scripture Reading
Philippians 4:4-9
"Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you."
Background
Paul has just graciously appealed to certain members of the Christian Philippian community to settle their disagreements, and his tone reflects his sadness that a rift has broken out between two members of the church who had both worked alongside him telling others the Good News. But following this gracious appeal, Paul then takes a marked turn. He suddenly and directly commands all the Philippian believers to always be full of rejoicing, and he does so not once but twice to emphasize the importance of living lives of joy. But his commands don’t stop there; he also commands them to never be anxious about anything and to always pray about everything. Clearly from what we have read earlier in this letter Paul feels he can make these kinds of commands because he has lived a life that is worthy of imitation… a life of faith and prayer and victory in all kinds of circumstances. Paul then follows up these commands with a picture of a lifestyle that will lead to the peace of God being present in the Philippians lives, a lifestyle, that again, they have seen in Paul’s life. This short section of five verses high light once again Paul’s primary desire for the Philippians and by extension for all that would eventually read this letter: that their lives would be characterized by joy that comes from knowing Jesus and by a peace that can only come from the hand of God.
Consider
Imagine how difficult it must have been for the small band of Christians in Philippi to feel safe and secure while living , within the much larger, highly Romanized often antagonistic, community. They may have simply wanted to quietly live out their lives away from the view of the wider society. Yet, Paul’s call was to live public lives… lives of rejoicing… lives that were worthy of praise from everyone! Think of how difficult it would have been to live a public life of rejoicing in the Lord in a world that found the message of a risen Jesus to be ridiculous.
Action
Take some time to take an inventory of your thoughts: Are they fixed on what is true? Honorable? Right? Pure? Lovely? Admirable? It is important to keep in mind that there is a promise in this passage: a mind fixed on these kinds of things will know the peace of God.
Prayer
Father, help me to live a life of joy and peace that reflects Your goodness. Teach me to bring my worries to You in prayer and to trust You in all circumstances. Let my thoughts and actions reflect Your truth, purity, and love. Amen.
Week 7 Prayer Guide
Monday
Philippians 4:4-5
"Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon."
God, please help me to live a life of thanksgiving so that I can, as Paul commanded us, always be full of joy. Please help me to focus on all that you have done for me in a way that leads to a celebration of your goodness.
Tuesday
Philippians 4:6
"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done."
Lord, help me to be considerate in all that I do. Please speak to my heart as I interact with others so that my words and actions reflect your son’s gentle and kind spirit.
Wednesday
Philippians 4:7
"Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
Lord, please give me the courage to trust you in all circumstances. Anxiousness is often a default attitude during times of uncertainty and my prayer is that I will be brave enough to tell you what I need and thank you for all you have already done in my life.
Thursday
Philippians 4:8
"Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."
Father, I pray that your peace will guard my heart and my mind. It is so easy to live holding on to the reigns of my own life and I want to experience your peace which you promise will surpass anything I can understand. Please help me to see that difficulties in my life are opportunities to turn to you and to see you fill my heart with your peace.
Friday
Philippians 4:9 (NLT)
"Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you."
Lord, please give me the wisdom and the discernment to know when my thoughts have strayed away from that which is true and honorable, right and pure, and lovely and admirable. I want to live a life that brings praise to your name. Help me to guard my mind and carefully chose my words so that I will show others the heart of Jesus in all that I think, say and do.