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. [in the Greek, the Lord is near]. 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.
PHILIPPIANS 4:4-7 (NLT)
There are days when everything seems to go wrong. You can stress about it, you can act out, but it does no good, it even makes things worse. When you go about something confidently that it will work as it always does, but it does not, you experience disbelief. Unfortunately, the stress levels suddenly rise along with the shock, and my first reaction is usually to call out for the Lord’s help, pray about it, and discuss it with the Lord, thanking him for his help in the past. Just knowing that God is near and listening, brings a huge relief and peace of mind, God’s peace. We must keep the bigger picture in mind; looking toward God, and away from ourselves to see what is important and this makes our little stresses have less power over us.
Verse 4 tells us to be joyful in the Lord. Not joyful because of the unwanted situation but filled with joy because of the faithfulness of our God on whom we can rely; being filled with joy knowing God cares about us, and will help us by giving us the strength, wisdom, and the patience to wait for his answer when we pray. We can be joyful knowing he is with us in all situations. The question is: where do we focus our attention? When we focus on our problems, we focus on
ourselves. We give power to the things that have overtaken us. And so, Paul reminds us that the Lord is near, our help is near, and we just need to rely on God’s goodness, justice, and love. That does not take the problem away, but it makes it manageable.
I know my inadequacies, I know my abilities, and so to take on a problem without God’s help is sure to bring about stress. Just knowing God is near and even among us fills me with confidence and peace: ‘For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior… He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.’ (Zephaniah 3:17). He sees what I cannot see, he knows what I do not know, and will help with what I cannot do; what a wonderful loving Saviour we have.
Prayer Merciful God, you are our peace and comfort when things do not work as we think it should. Help us to focus on what is important, keeping our eyes on you, our confidence and trust in you. You are the joy in our hearts, the peace we need each day. We know you are near, and we thank you for being close by, helping us, and watching over us so faithfully. We praise you, God, in Jesus’s name, Amen.