Ah-h-h-h-h.
Rejoice in the Lord always;
again I will say, rejoice!
Let your gentle spirit
be known to all men.
The Lord is near.
Be anxious for nothing,
but in everything by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God,
which surpasses all comprehension,
will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7
These words that God inspired the apostle Paul to write to the Philippian Christians are comforting to us all. When we studied it in our weekly ladies Bible class one time, Sue told us that she repeats the verse about not being anxious about anything every night when she prays. Miss Frances showed me that the verse about rejoicing always was underlined in her Bible. I read these verses every time I sit down to read my Bible.
Rejoice. Always. Gentle. Near. Peace.
Afternoon winter sunset
Those Philippians were surely like all us women. They had cause for sadness. They were tempted to be harsh. They were lonely at least some of the time, and perhaps always. They were anxious about a great many things.
God understood this, so he gave Paul words of sweet comfort.
You can rejoice always.
You can be so gentle that everyone will know it. Everyone. All the time.
The Lord is near. You are not alone.
You don’t need to be anxious about anything.
God is waiting to hear every prayer, every supplication, every request about everything.
It is possible to be thankful.
Peace — God’s peace — that defies all comprehension is available all the time.
That peace will guard your heart and your mind — even your very own brain that feels very foggy sometimes.
All these things are available all the time in Christ Jesus.
Ah-h-h-h-h. That feels so good, so very good.
And my God will supply all your needs
according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever.
Amen.
Philippians 4:19-20