Living a Life of Genuine & Generous Friendship, part 3

Joy - all of those things we closed yesterday’s devotional with. That is why Paul is urging the people of Philippi to rejoice in the Lord. Depression and worship very seldom coexist. Feeling down? Turn on some worship music and begin worshiping. You may start out like Eeyore, but you will wind up attracting the very presence of God into your life, your spirit, and your emotions. Ultimately our joy rests in Jesus, and nothing else.
 

There is a progression here, a word of wisdom from the Spirit, that Paul is sharing with us. Can you see it? We must live together in Christian unity. The wonder of Christian unity is that it gives us the ability, to rejoice in the Lord together, which brings us to the third point of Living in Genuine and Generous Friendship:
 

3. The peace of God is available in Christian community. 

Philippians 4:6–7 are famous verses. I’m going to repeat them here, so they are fresh in our minds as we move forward, “6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through 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 minds in Christ Jesus.” 

At the beginning of verse 7, there is a conjunction: “And.” You may remember from your junior high school English class: conjunctions link to thoughts or phrases together. In this case, it’s meant to show us that verse 6 is the condition that has to exist in order for verse 7 to apply. 

We all want the peace of God to rule in our hearts, minds, and spirits - and it can and it will. But there is a condition that has to exist first: the condition is that we have to banish worry and anxiety. Anxiety is fear of the future. It is the antithesis, or opposite, of joy. Paul is showing us that it is impossible to live in anxiety if we are surrounded in joyful agreement with our brothers and sisters.
 

In fact, Paul says, “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving…” It’s in this manner that we should let our requests be made known to God. This is critical for our spiritual lives as individuals, but it is powerful and necessary, for a community of believers.
 

Have you ever noticed how anxiety and worry can take hold of an entire community of people? It’s like a social virus: if there is a herd of cows grazing close to an electric fence, and if just one cow brushes up against electric fence and receives a shock, it reacts - and the whole herd is startled! You can watch the surprise and fear work its way through every cow.
 

My point is simply to suggest that together, as a church family, we should not worry about anything. Paul shows us that together we can - through prayer and petition with thanksgiving - let our requests be made known to God. And together, we will experience joy and peace.

Continued tomorrow