Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again I 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 Christ Jesus.

The letter to the Philippians was written by the apostle Paul while he was in prison for preaching the gospel.  This makes our verses all the more remarkable for his command; “Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again I say, rejoice!”  The dominant principle in chapter 4 is spiritual stability in this world filled with anxiety.

Our secular culture struggles with anxiety – the inability to cope with circumstances. This world directs us to find man made solutions; that man can solve his living problems without God, making use of secular experts.   It is futile to search for ultimate answers without God at the center of our lives. Without God we are fruitless, rootless, worthless and unstable.  We are not a biological machine and cannot successfully live in an existence of self love.  In whatever state we need to be content in Christ – we are not the issue. God is living IN the faithful; God is eternal, faithful, holy, pure and in charge of history and circumstance.  And God is near.  We are not to question the Lord but to delight in Him

Human solutions to instability are just human imagination and sentimental invention.  We can count on God’s revealed character and the history of His actions.  The only resting place for the soul is in God and we are to be anxious for nothing in Him – to be content in all circumstances.  We are to rejoice in the Lord always. What a wonderful relief.