This is part 1 of a 3-part series. View the entire series here.
Verse(s): Philippians 4:4-5
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.
Anxiety is never a welcomed feeling. And if you’re facing it now, hear this––anxiety doesn’t control you. Read that again. Maybe even say it out loud. But don’t move on before you let that truth sink in.
Anxiety doesn’t control you.
Because you belong to God, and He has promised you a peace that surpasses understanding and joy that abounds in all things. So now is the time to clear your mind, receive the blessings of God, and find comfort in His promises. The apostle Paul was a key leader in the early church. He traveled on three different missionary journeys, planting churches and discipling believers. But because of his unwavering faithfulness to God, he was sentenced to house arrest in Rome.
This might not sound like the most peaceful environment, but it’s where he wrote many of his letters to different churches (some of which have become books of the Bible!). One of these letters we now call the book of Philippians. This letter is often called the “book of joy.” You may be asking, How could Paul find joy while bound in prison?
How did he push through sleepless nights? How did he work through worry? How did he find joy despite the loss of his freedom? Philippians 4:4-5 gives us a good idea. It says: Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.
Notice Paul’s first sentence. It’s not a suggestion. It’s a command. A command to lift our eyes from our problems, look to heaven—and rejoice! But the command is connected to an important truth: We can always be full of joy if we keep our lives centered on the Lord.
When Paul tells us to rejoice, it’s not a command to ignore the hard parts of our lives. It’s a call to put our problems into perspective. To see that the Lord is worth praising. To remind ourselves that He has promised to come back and make all things new.
Take a moment to look at your priorities in life. What consumes your mind, heart, and time the most? Whether or not we’re willing to admit it, our actions don’t lie. We give the most to what we prioritize the most. When we allow everything that’s wrong to consume our minds, fear of the future to grip our hearts, and empty distractions to fill our time, we’re saying those things hold the highest priority in our lives.
If we want to let go of worry and anxiety, we have to re-prioritize. What are you filling your mind with? What are you centering your heart on? What are you giving your time away to? Choosing to prioritize God––filling your mind with His truth, filling your heart with his love, and filling your time with Him––will remind you of all the reasons you have to rejoice. And rejoicing is the first step to overcoming anxiety and finding peace in our Maker.
