Philippians 4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Do not worry about anything

Have you ever wondered why your heart and mind might need to be guarded? It’s like they’re defenseless on their own, and that they’re under attack. Think for a moment about what goes on in your heart and in your mind; your mind is full of thoughts, some you choose and some just seem to show up. Your heart on the other hand is deeper, it’s been called “the place where we choose life or death.” There’s a lot going on in each one of us. Some we are aware of, and some happens deep beneath the surface.

Psychology and counseling try to help us understand how to address the pain and confusion that may be going on in our hearts and minds, but they can only go so far. Only the Holy Spirit can fully grasp the depths of the person, what’s going on in our hearts and minds.

When we become aware that we’re under attack, we could be noticing flaws within ourselves or something or someone coming at us from outside: spiritual attack. There are two names for “the evil one” in the Bible: “Satan”, which means “the accuser”, and “The Devil”, meaning “the one who scatters.” You can think about what’s going on when you’re under attack at a psychological level and get psychological help. But what about spiritual attack?

Paul, writing to the Philippians orders them to rejoice. This is so important that he repeats the order: “again I will say, Rejoice.” But how do we rejoice when we are full of worry? He has advice:

• Gentleness
  • Recognizing that people are carrying burdens and offering them support instead of accusation. (It’s also very important to be gentle with yourself.)
• Prayer and Supplication
  • Asking God for whatever we need with trust that He will answer in His time and in His way.
• Thanksgiving
  • Expressing gratitude for all of our blessings, especially the gift of salvation, given to us by faith in Jesus.

So, how is it possible not to worry about anything? Paul is not teaching us that we will have nothing to worry about. But he promises that “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding” will grow within us as we turn to him with gentleness, supplication and thanksgiving.

As Paul writes these words, he is a prisoner of the Roman Empire and facing death. He could easily allow worry to dominate his heart and mind. Let’s learn from his witness that evil has no power over our hearts when we rejoice and allow Jesus in.