Such Things

“Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4

A dear friend of mine turns to a certain book whenever anxiety starts to arise in her life.  It is a book from one of my favorite authors, Max Lucado called Anxious for Nothing – Finding Calm in a Chaotic World.  I never have been a big worrier, neither as a child nor an adult, but I must admit that I ordered this book and Bible Study because of what is going on in our world.  I must finally own up to the fact that I am also heavy-heartened and I’m finding certain parts of our circumstances worrisome.  Sometimes our bodies explain to our minds what we are really feeling.  I don’t know why but now every morning when I listen to my worship music, tears just stream down my face…every morning.  It is part of my new routine I guess, so I no longer try to stifle the tears. I did this morning what I always do when I begin a new Bible study.  I opened the front cover, wrote the date and made notes as to what is occurring in my life and the life of my family and friends.  It helps me chronicle the prayer requests and timeline of how God has answered those prayers and/or brought my concerns to a resolution.  Never in a million years did I ever imagine the things I wrote in the front of this one today.  As you see the inside front page even looks chaotic with different colors, scribbles and exclamation points. 

Why did Paul feel the need to exhort us twice to rejoice?  How was he able to believe this with everything in his soul while sitting on a cold prison floor shackled to a Roman guard?  His days were limited in that prison because death was certain to find him.  He had nowhere to run… except out of options.  And yet, he rejoiced in the Lord and told us to…not just when things were good but ALWAYS.  “Paul’s prescription for anxiety is a call to ‘rejoice in the Lord.’ This is not a call to a feeling but to a decision…We can wear our fear or wear our hope.  We can cave into the pandemonium of life or lean into the perfect plan [and presence] of God.”  Anxious for Nothing, p. 17.  Rejoicing in the Lord is ‘a deeply rooted confidence that God is still in control… that God is good, and that God preserves and governs over everything He created.  When our minds race to anxiety we open us a devastating dialogue between fear and faith…who will win out?  Anxiety is normal during unstable times but left unchecked it can squeeze the life right out of us.  It can choke any joy we usually have, leaving us restless, sleepless and faithless.  Thankfully, we have 1651 pages of God’s comforts, encouragement and promises to which we can turn.  One of my favorite passages is a sure way to settle my angst and rally my joy!  So, today let us ‘think about such things’ and REJOICE!  Again, I say Rejoice!

“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.” Philippians 4:8.