Rejoice (Philippians 4:4-6)

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

At the end of verse three, Paul told the Philippians that their names were in “the book of life”, meaning they were saved – not, of course, through any effort of their own, but because of God. This image of “the book of life” appears to have been very popular in the early Church, since it also occurs seven times in Revelation. Because they know that they are saved, the Philippians can rejoice. Whatever they may be facing or have to face, they can be sure of God’s love and their future joy with him. And remember that Paul is in prison, facing an unknown fate. Rejoicing is the great theme of this letter, for the word occurs 16 times in it. As Marcus Maxwell puts it: “in that deep-seated relationship with Christ which is the bedrock of Christian living, there is a certainty of love and hope that will not allow despair or disillusionment.” Whatever happens in the here and now, our fate is eternal life.

In verse five, Paul writes that “the Lord is near” which has provoked some debate. Does Paul think the Parousia is at hand or is he just speaking in general? It’s not really important. God has already broken into our world, becoming human and transforming everything. Emmanuel, after all, means God with us. He has brought us salvation, and we must live our lives in accordance with this knowledge. Paul also writes of letting our gentleness or, as it is also translated, forbearance, be evident to all . The word basically means being reasonable, having self-discipline and respecting the dignity of other people. We must be reasonable in all cases when dealing with everyone. Paul is once again stressing the need to imitate Christ. Therefore, we should not be a church in which we quarrel all the time. Instead, we must respect and love each other and show tolerance.

We need not worry or be afraid for God is in charge. Instead, we should pray and tell God what worries us. Paul seems to think we have two options: to be anxious or to pray. He also seems to think that worrying too much can be sinful because it shows a lack of faith. It means that we do not trust God. But we also worry because we carry burdens that are too heavy for us. Paul’s solution to the problem is prayer for through prayer we can transfer our burdens to God, who can always bear any load no matter how great. Paul, of course, wrote this from prison so he wasn’t expecting that everything we pray for will come true immediately. Prayer is communication with God and involves much more than just asking him to give us things. Indeed, no one likes a person who continually asks us to do things for them, so prayer is also about listening. Prayer can also take many forms, such as meditation or simply reading a book about God.

Paul sees three major forms of prayer: prayer for ourselves, for others and thanksgiving. Cultivating gratitude is also a good way of easing anxiety. But, for Paul, putting our cares before God and asking for help is a major part of prayer. However, if we do not get what we want, we should remember two things: God knows what we need better than we do, and God’s time is not our time. But he is always there for us. Let us never forget either that God created us and gave us everything we have, so thanksgiving is always called for in prayer. To cite Thurston and Ryan again: “Every request made to God is made in the context of gratitude for what God has already done and given.” Realizing all the blessings we have is also a good remedy for anxiety.