"Facing Challenges and Hardship" Philippians 4 - February 1, 2023

"Facing Challenges & Hardship" Philippians 4 - February 1, 2023

Read Here: https://www.bible.com/en-GB/bible/111/PHP.4.NIV

. Philippians 4:4-8, Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Facing Adversity and Challenges – When crisis strikes, our typical go-to response is anxiety. That’s too often my own reaction. As someone prone to anxiety, my mind goes to the worst possible scenario. But this Scripture gives us a better way to deal with adversity. Paul says to start with rejoicing. Rejoice when things are good and rejoice when things are bad. Always rejoice.

We may not feel like rejoicing but he is saying to make an intentional decision to rejoice regardless. Rejoicing leads to gentleness. Gentleness means not causing harm, being gracious, humble, meek, not looking out for your own needs but those of others; seeking to be like Jesus. Gentleness is the disposition of someone who knows that the Lord is near.

When tragedy hits, when we are in the midst of despair but we know that God is near, then it creates space for a different response than anxiety. Rather than worry and anxiety, we can move to prayer and petition. Present our requests to God (with thanksgiving) and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, can fill us. This is the pattern: Rejoicing ---- Gentleness ---- Know the Lord is near ----- Prayer & Petition Yields: Less anxiety (peace) and Thanksgiving One other thing to mention is this only makes sense connected to Jesus.

We can only have peace in hardship because of Jesus Christ. It’s his presence that leads to peace. Nothing else. Verse 8 is a great way to close this devotional today. I would encourage you to memorize this verse. This is about changing our thought life. It’s a method or strategy for dealing with worry and anxiety.

So often, we get in a loop. We play the tape over and over again in our head. What if this happens? Why did that happen? What will I do if this occurs? I’m wondering if Paul, in his Roman prison cell, sometimes fell prey to this kind of thinking. It’s like he is telling us, “Look, you think you can’t rejoice but you can. Stop thinking about the bad stuff and start thinking about that which is true, that which is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or worthy of praise.” This means turning off the news. It means turning off Facebook. It means removing the external sources of negativity from your life as much as possible.

Focus on what is worthy of praise. What things in your life are worthy of praise? In my own life, it’s this congregation, this church, my staff, my family, my dogs, my friends… When you get stuck in the negative thought loop, using this verse is an exercise in turning anxiety into joy. Jesus came to give us life and to give it to us abundantly. He didn’t want us to simply exist but to thrive, to rejoice in all circumstances, to experience shalom, and to bring him glory. Don’t settle for less.

No matter what you are dealing with, no matter what you are going through, God is with you. As believers in Jesus, we are tasked with demonstrating to the world, the unhappy world, that there is a different way of doing life, in which you can experience joy and hope, even in the darkest times.

Let’s pray…Lord Jesus, Fill me with your Spirit. Fill me with your peace. Amen

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Our staff and leadership employ what's called the “S.O.A.P. Method”. It stands for Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer. Each day, we read one or two chapters of Scripture and focus on one particular verse. We make some observations about how that verse touches us, discern how it applies to our lives, and offer a prayer related to what we have read. - Rev. Dr. Vicki Harrison -- Donate via PayPal to support the podcasts and the Technical Arts Ministry of New Hope! https://goo.gl/o2a9oU Subscribe at: http://www.findnewhope.com/soap (813) 689-4161 keywords: devotional, bible study