Sweet Sisters,
Today I want to study Philippians 4:4 – 9. I have always taken these verses each on their own. Recently I came to the realization that there is a pattern to them. I think Paul may be giving us a formula to follow to find real peace in our lives. Let’s look at it in its entirety first and then I will attempt to show you what I mean.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 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. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Paul starts off in verse 4 by telling us to rejoice in the Lord. Paul uses this word, or a form of it, 16 times in the book of Philippians. One definition for rejoice is to “take delight in”. Psalm 37:4 tells us that if we delight in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Imagine how awesome life would be if we took delight in all the blessings God gives us.
Because we are rejoicing in everything, Paul then goes on to tell us to “Let our gentleness be known to all” in verse 5. Some versions use “moderation”. Moderation is defined in the dictionary as: restraint on passions, free from excess, gentle behavior. In the Greek it is defined as: mildness, patience, gentleness, unwilling to argue.
Do you see the pattern starting to emerge?
When we focus on what is delightful then that effects our behavior. We are kind and gentle with people. We refuse to argue with them. We do this because God is near. God is with us.
Psalm 34:18 portrays this really well.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
When life presents a situation that we are struggling to take “delight in” or when we are having difficulty reacting to someone with gentleness, then Paul tells us to give that situation to God. In exchange for our willingness to do this, God will give us a peace that transcends (surpasses or exceeds) all understanding and will guard our hearts and minds.
I wonder what Paul meant by “guard your hearts and minds”? I think he meant that when we bring our struggles to God, He in return protects us from the doubts and fears that Satan is always standing by waiting to throw at us. God offers us His peace if we will be willing to trust Him and let Him handle everything.
Paul suggests in verse 8 that instead of thinking on what is making us anxious, we should think about positive things instead. He gives us a list to choose from:
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.
I find it really helps me if I have a good understanding of what a word means so I have taken each of the traits that Paul suggests and I have given you the definition I found.
TRUE – accurate and exact
NOBLE – honorable
RIGHT – morally good
PURE – free of contamination
LOVELY – beautiful
ADMIRABLE – deserving of respect
EXCELLENT/PRAISEWORTHY – deserving of approval, superb
The pattern ends in verse nine with Paul telling us to follow his example. Paul recognized that we all need mentors. Someone told me once, “If someone is where you want to be, then follow them and do what they do”. I’ve followed that advice when raising my children, when going to the gym and especially in my spiritual life. When I find myself drawn to someone because they seem especially close to God, then I try to build a relationship with them so I can learn what it is they are doing that gives me that impression.
In summary, let’s review the pattern Paul may be giving us:
- Rejoice/delight in God and in HIs blessings
- Walk the walk
- Trust that God is with you
- Take your struggles to God
- Focus on the positive
- Find a mentor whose example you can follow
Sweet Sisters, it just occurred to me that I haven’t given you a definition for the word “pattern”. According to Oxford languages, the word has several definitions. Here are two I liked:
- a model or design to be followed
- an example for others to follow
Paul also tells us in verse nine, that if we follow what he has said in these verses that “the God of peace will be with you”. I don’t know about you, but I definitely need more of God’s peace in my life.
May God bless us as we strive to develop Paul’s pattern for peace in our lives.
Debbie