Dear Friend,
Right now you may be in the fight of your life, and you are asking, how do you get peace in a bad situation? Whether people admit it or not; we’re either headed into a crisis, in the midst of one, or coming out of one. Now, coming out of one is great. We can see what God was up to in part, and we get a measure of peace from that. But how can we get peace if we're headed into or in the midst of a crisis? God speaks to just that in Philippians 4:4-9. The first thing we have to do is focus on God instead of the situation. That's easier said than done, but that's what Paul means when he says in Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice." He's not saying that we're happy about what we're going through; he's not even saying to rejoice in our difficulties. He's saying rejoice in the Lord, and that's something altogether different. Biblical joy is the knowledge that God is in control of your circumstances and allows only that which is good for you into your life. That's why James 1:2 says to consider it joy when a trial comes your way. It's not that the trial brings joy; it's what God is doing for us through the trial; His good work is coming into our lives. Because we know that, we consider the trial joy; we rest in the Lord. In essence, we worship Him. That's what Job did when he lost his possessions and his family; he said, "Blessed be the name of the Lord." The afternoon of November 8, 1989, when my only sister died from lymphoma was sad; not only were we very close, but it pained me to see my sons suffer as well. At the same time, we all knew that God was involved in every detail and was doing a good thing in our lives through our hurt. As we focused on that, we were able to worship, find joy, and tell others about the goodness of God and the good times we had with my sister during the last year of her life. It’s not that we were happy about my sister’s death; but we forced ourselves to focus on God and in so doing we found joy. But that’s only the beginning, we can’t stop there because Satan and the flesh have a way of coming back to bite us. From our focus on God we have to literally engage in serving others. Paul says in Philippians 4:5, "Let your gentleness be known to all men; the Lord is at hand." As you rejoice in God, that should move you to then focus on others. Let your gentleness, kindness, patience, and heart be known to others. How can you do that? Paul says the Lord is at hand; God is near and will help you. And it's not just that God wants you to serve others in the midst of your trouble. It's that He knows our weakness. Our inclination will be to focus on ourselves and spiral down into despair. But if we focus on others, we'll be distracted and not have time to spiral down. More than that, we'll derive a certain joy in serving others before the Lord. Now, that’s well and good. But what happens when we’re alone or it’s time to go to bed? We have to give our worry and anxiety to God through prayer. I remember tossing and turning one night in 2006 when my son was in the hospital for his blood pressure and the doctors were very concerned about his kidneys. I couldn't get any peace. I did remember God's Word though in Philippians 4:6: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." Well, that's what I was doing; I was praying over and over again but I still couldn't get any peace or sleep! And then I realized; I was praying like the pagans do. I was worried if I didn't say just the right thing, mention every possible problem, or pray with just the right attitude, that God wouldn't hear my prayers. When I realized what I was doing, I simply gave it to the Lord. That's why He says to pray; He means for us to tell Him what's burdening our hearts and give it to Him so we can rest. He gives us permission (and commands us even) to stop thinking about our problems and let Him deal with them. When we do that, He gives us the peace. When I did that, I went right to sleep. If we pray and leave our burden with God, Philippians 4:7 tells us, "The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." God's peace will guard our hearts and minds so that no troubling thing plagues us!! You might say certain thoughts plague you because you're in a long term dilemma that seems never ending. Yes, but you don't have to dwell on the difficulties. Reorient the focus of your thoughts. Paul says in Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things." My friend, take it one step further. The more you meditate on the things of God, as Paul says, the more you'll know God and His ways. You'll know that He is indeed working these things for good in your life. You will understand Psalm 84:11, "the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly." Praise God!!! Hallelujah! But there’s one more thing before I close this morning’s letter: Keep doing the things that God has instructed you to do. Philippians 4:9, "The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you." If you do what God is teaching you to do, you'll have peace. And don't overlook the tone of what Paul says here. Earlier, he said that the peace of God will guard your heart. That's true; that's what we want. But here he says the God of peace will be with you. That's even better! You get peace because you have the God of peace walking with you through the fire. In Daniel 3:17-25 we see God was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, and He'll be with you in your fiery furnace as well! They were at peace even though they didn't know whether God would actually keep them alive or not. All they knew was that God was with them and would see them through one way or the other. And that's what you need to realize; God is with you and will see you through one way or the other. And that's not acceptance or pessimistic. That's confidence. God has a plan for you and it's good. You walk with Him because He's walking with you. That's how you get peace in a really bad situation!!
Let’s Pray: ‘Heavenly Father, I lay down my anxious thoughts and cast all my cares on You. Bathe my mind with Your Holy Spirit and fill my entire being with Your peace. When I feel inadequate, help me to live in your grace and rest in the knowledge that You are with me. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen!”
Something to think about: The sweetest time of the day is when you pray; because you are talking to The One who loves you the most!”
Right now you may be in the fight of your life, and you are asking, how do you get peace in a bad situation? Whether people admit it or not; we’re either headed into a crisis, in the midst of one, or coming out of one. Now, coming out of one is great. We can see what God was up to in part, and we get a measure of peace from that. But how can we get peace if we're headed into or in the midst of a crisis? God speaks to just that in Philippians 4:4-9. The first thing we have to do is focus on God instead of the situation. That's easier said than done, but that's what Paul means when he says in Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice." He's not saying that we're happy about what we're going through; he's not even saying to rejoice in our difficulties. He's saying rejoice in the Lord, and that's something altogether different. Biblical joy is the knowledge that God is in control of your circumstances and allows only that which is good for you into your life. That's why James 1:2 says to consider it joy when a trial comes your way. It's not that the trial brings joy; it's what God is doing for us through the trial; His good work is coming into our lives. Because we know that, we consider the trial joy; we rest in the Lord. In essence, we worship Him. That's what Job did when he lost his possessions and his family; he said, "Blessed be the name of the Lord." The afternoon of November 8, 1989, when my only sister died from lymphoma was sad; not only were we very close, but it pained me to see my sons suffer as well. At the same time, we all knew that God was involved in every detail and was doing a good thing in our lives through our hurt. As we focused on that, we were able to worship, find joy, and tell others about the goodness of God and the good times we had with my sister during the last year of her life. It’s not that we were happy about my sister’s death; but we forced ourselves to focus on God and in so doing we found joy. But that’s only the beginning, we can’t stop there because Satan and the flesh have a way of coming back to bite us. From our focus on God we have to literally engage in serving others. Paul says in Philippians 4:5, "Let your gentleness be known to all men; the Lord is at hand." As you rejoice in God, that should move you to then focus on others. Let your gentleness, kindness, patience, and heart be known to others. How can you do that? Paul says the Lord is at hand; God is near and will help you. And it's not just that God wants you to serve others in the midst of your trouble. It's that He knows our weakness. Our inclination will be to focus on ourselves and spiral down into despair. But if we focus on others, we'll be distracted and not have time to spiral down. More than that, we'll derive a certain joy in serving others before the Lord. Now, that’s well and good. But what happens when we’re alone or it’s time to go to bed? We have to give our worry and anxiety to God through prayer. I remember tossing and turning one night in 2006 when my son was in the hospital for his blood pressure and the doctors were very concerned about his kidneys. I couldn't get any peace. I did remember God's Word though in Philippians 4:6: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." Well, that's what I was doing; I was praying over and over again but I still couldn't get any peace or sleep! And then I realized; I was praying like the pagans do. I was worried if I didn't say just the right thing, mention every possible problem, or pray with just the right attitude, that God wouldn't hear my prayers. When I realized what I was doing, I simply gave it to the Lord. That's why He says to pray; He means for us to tell Him what's burdening our hearts and give it to Him so we can rest. He gives us permission (and commands us even) to stop thinking about our problems and let Him deal with them. When we do that, He gives us the peace. When I did that, I went right to sleep. If we pray and leave our burden with God, Philippians 4:7 tells us, "The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." God's peace will guard our hearts and minds so that no troubling thing plagues us!! You might say certain thoughts plague you because you're in a long term dilemma that seems never ending. Yes, but you don't have to dwell on the difficulties. Reorient the focus of your thoughts. Paul says in Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things." My friend, take it one step further. The more you meditate on the things of God, as Paul says, the more you'll know God and His ways. You'll know that He is indeed working these things for good in your life. You will understand Psalm 84:11, "the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly." Praise God!!! Hallelujah! But there’s one more thing before I close this morning’s letter: Keep doing the things that God has instructed you to do. Philippians 4:9, "The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you." If you do what God is teaching you to do, you'll have peace. And don't overlook the tone of what Paul says here. Earlier, he said that the peace of God will guard your heart. That's true; that's what we want. But here he says the God of peace will be with you. That's even better! You get peace because you have the God of peace walking with you through the fire. In Daniel 3:17-25 we see God was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, and He'll be with you in your fiery furnace as well! They were at peace even though they didn't know whether God would actually keep them alive or not. All they knew was that God was with them and would see them through one way or the other. And that's what you need to realize; God is with you and will see you through one way or the other. And that's not acceptance or pessimistic. That's confidence. God has a plan for you and it's good. You walk with Him because He's walking with you. That's how you get peace in a really bad situation!!
Let’s Pray: ‘Heavenly Father, I lay down my anxious thoughts and cast all my cares on You. Bathe my mind with Your Holy Spirit and fill my entire being with Your peace. When I feel inadequate, help me to live in your grace and rest in the knowledge that You are with me. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen!”
Something to think about: The sweetest time of the day is when you pray; because you are talking to The One who loves you the most!”
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