8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Reflection
So, do you remember the pandemic?
Of course you do. It will be on our minds for years to come.
Could it really have been five years? Still, it doesn’t have to reign supreme in our minds. We have so many other things to think about. Good things. Things to thank God for. Like today’s scripture. Make it scriptures. I expanded Philippians 4 to also include 4-7. I like to use the NIV. That’s what I was brought up with.
It begins in verse 4: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
Just imagine if we could always do these things. Occasionally, my gentleness is evident to some—but too rarely. Then we’re not to be anxious about anything. Seriously God, anything. But we do get anxious about probably everything. That’s why the Bible has 250 verses about being anxious. We do get anxious—a lot.
But, we are told what to do when we get anxious. Paul wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Paul begins, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice.” Then we can be gentle. Was Paul telling us to rejoice even during difficulties and persecutions? You bet he was. Not only was he telling us to rejoice he told us how to rejoice.
He added, ““Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
For good measure let me add verse 9, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
Remember, the Lord is near.
by Rick Reed
For Pondering and Prayer
It’s too easy to think about the bad things. Lord help me to remember the good things we saw in these verses. So many good things. I don’t need to be anxious about anything. Please help me to put it into practice.
Prayer: Oh Lord, help us to learn to set our minds on things above. Above all, help is to
remember the Lord is near. Amen.
