Rejoice

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Scripture: Philippians 4:4-7

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness 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.



Meditation:

Scripture’s teachings can be hard to follow. With all that we hear on the news these days we hardly think of rejoicing. The latest murder or other disaster makes us feel more like mourning than rejoicing. I think that we can and should mourn when bad things happen. However we should not be trapped in our mourning. We should follow the advice of the teacher in Ecclesiastes who says, “For everything there is a season, and la time for every matter under heaven:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) Let us take time for weeping and laughing. There really isn’t anything new under the sun.

If we find ourselves anxious and depressed after watching the news then perhaps it is time to pray for a while as Paul instructs us. We should calm ourselves by reading God’s word and meditating on its application to our lives. So that our hearts and minds might be kept safe and holy for God.

For “the end of the matter; after all has been heard. Fear God and keep God’s commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (Eccl 12:13) We can’t control what happens in Dallas, or Orlando or anyplace else in the world. All we can control is what we do here and now. If each of us will fear God and love our neighbor as ourselves then the problems of the world will slowly but surely work themselves out.

Prayer:

            Almighty God hear our prayer. The troubles of this world overwhelm us. In our own strength we cannot rely because we are too sinful and weak. Teach us to rely on your strength to live each of our days in right relationship with you and our neighbor. Lord we put all the cares of the world into your hands. Fill our hands and hearts only with love for all your creation.



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