Pastor Sue:
Paul tells us to rejoice in everything and not to be anxious, but we think it means that if we do that, God will make everything "work out all right" for us- we'll be okay, bad things won't happen, everything will calm down and our worst fears will never come to pass. Wouldn't that be the point of "not being anxious?" After all- our anxiety usually comes from trying to control circumstances to keep "the worst" away! If we give up anxiety, doesn't the burden of making things work out all right then fall on God?
But that's not what Paul says in the verses above. What he says is, rejoice. Be famously gentle. Don't be anxious. Pray, pray, pray and be thankful. And the result is, whatever the situation, the peace of God which transcends understanding, (in other word, given the situation it makes no sense!) will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. There is no guarantee that our hopes and dreams will come to pass; there are no promises that bad things, from the world's point of view, won't happen, even if- especially if- we have given our lives to Jesus. Instead we are promised that God knows us personally, has already guaranteed our ultimate safety in him...
I have things to say on this. It's all rattling around in my brain. Like the fact that that little phrase, "guard your hearts" keeps popping up in my life... like the fact that the Greek word used in this case is also used in 1 Peter 1:5 in a "guarding the garrison" context. Protection, safety, trust... peace.
In many ways, I keep waiting for the days when the worst won't happen, when pieces won't need to be picked up, when the dreams do truly start to come true. And then, I'm reminded of kingdom things and that I need to get over myself and realize it's not about me. Sometimes, I get so wrapped up in the "what-ifs" that I forget to live for the real reason I'm here. It's hard to think about what ifs when there's rejoicing going on. Think about it. How hard is it to worry and be anxious when there's some serious singing going on Sunday morning? Or when you're holding a new baby? Or when you get incredible news about something positive in your life?
I know I tend to lean toward the melancholy of life. I understand why. There's a lot in my life to be sad about. To struggle with. Some of it has been of my own making and some of it not so much. But as Pastor Sue points out, Paul had quite a bit of that in his life. He spent the entire first part of his career thinking he was some hot shot. He created a significant world for himself- only to have God come in and completely transform it. I understand to some small extent how he must have felt. He thought life was going to go one way and God had other plans.
There is some uncertainty in that. If you were to tell someone who did not understand faith or God that you were going to just follow what God said instead of what you had created for yourself, that person would think you were crazy! And yet, that's what we do as Christians. We put our trust and faith in the unseen. God's plans are largely unknown to us. He sees the ultimate "big picture" and we don't always understand where we fit into it. So, we scramble to try and grasp control of something- anything. And what he asks of us is the complete opposite. He offers peace that is uncomprehensible when we give up the control. That's scary!!! It takes a huge amount of trust! It feels like standing on the edge of the cliff and taking a deep breath before plunging downward into what you are certain will be a tragic end. It's a series of that moment right before you leap when your heart is beating a million beats a minute, you've squeezed your eyes shut so tightly, and you're not sure you can breathe. But after you take the leap, and you can open your eyes, you realize you won't fall because Christ is beside you, holding you up and the sights you see with him by your side are greater than you could ever see standing on that cliff by yourself.
I wonder if Paul was trying to remind himself of all that. That transformation in Christ is scary, but worth it. That rejoicing sometimes seems harder than floundering in the what ifs. But I think it's more that he reached that place where he was living more for Christ than the world. Think about that! I know my life is not at that place. Where a greater percentage of my thinking is about Christ and kingdom things, rather than me and my own personal stuff. The next verses in Philippians talk about things we should think on. ("whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy") Paul gives us those because he knows that if we think on these things, it's easier to rejoice. The what ifs, the lost dreams, the things of the world- they will seem distant if you're thinking on those other positive things. If we put into practice those positive things, Paul knows that those are the things we'll start to think about and then start to live out. And they are steps on the road to kingdom things.
There are more thoughts... More answers to be found...
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