Philippians 4:4-7 Devotional

Philippians 4:4-7

"4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness[a] be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4 has always been dear to my heart. I have struggled with anxiety for years, and each time I feel myself becoming anxious or overwhelmed, the Lord has brought me back to this passage. Below, I will walk through things I have learned from this passage and different devotional meditations for this passage. 

In verse 4, it is clearly emphasized that we are Christians should REJOICE. When scripture repeats itself, it is not a typo. Scripture repeats to emphasize. Rejoicing is the first step. 

In verse 5, we as Christians are called to be noticeably level headed and reasonable. In a world that is often very flustered by conflicts and inconvenience, it is noticeable when someone is not phased by hardship. When we rejoice in ALL things ALL the time (vs. 4),  we are noticeably different and acting reasonable according to God's perspective. 

At the end of verse 5 and beginning of verse 6, we are told of the power of God. Simply because the Lord is at hand, we are able to fulfill the command of "do not be anxious." Rather than anxiety, we are called to run the the Lord, being thankful of all He has done, and being honest with our needs and requests. 

Verse 7 concludes this devotional by explaining the outcome of absence of anxiety. When we submit our anxiety to God, we are left with His peace. We might not always be able to understand this peace that calms our nerves so faithfully, but we are able to still receive it. Jesus is the reason for our peace. 

Overall, Philippians 4:4-7 is a wonderful passage to dig into and study. God still has a lot to teach me about His peace and my anxious habits. I am eager to learn more from Him.