Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! (5) Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. (6) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; (7) and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ. (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. (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.
The letter to the Philippians was written by the apostle Paul when he was a prisoner in Rome because of the gospel. In our verses today Paul sums up his main theme in Philippians – Christian behavior in a lost world. This message was to bolster the faithful in a world where Christian persecution was a real and present danger.
Paul tells his readers to rejoice in the Lord – and repeats this to underline the importance of his injunction. The peace of God which surpasses all understanding is a promise, not a prayer. This peace is not dependent on this world but exactly the opposite; it is found in the grace of God alone through Christ Jesus. The joys/pleasures of this world are shadows of the real thing – imperfect and fleeting – never satisfying. Anxiety and joy are mutually exclusive and if we give in to anxiety we are living in this world and have not trust in The sovereignty of God. Ignorance of the providence of God is the cause of all impatience, confusion and doubt.
We cannot live to please ourselves – not if we have true faith. The only way to realize the peace of God is try to please God. Our real life is led in our heads and our thoughts shape our conduct: thoughts become words, become actions, become habits, become our character and inevitably become our destiny. Life lived in the context of eternity should be taken very seriously indeed. Think biblically.