Philippians 4

4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
5 Let your moderation (gentleness) be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be anxious about nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7 (KJV & NKJV)


We know verse four pretty well, as well as verse six. How often do we follow their injunctions, though? I've been pretty anxious about things recently... I haven't spent enough time letting my requests, desires, and concerns be made known to God, and I certainly haven't been rejoicing in all this. Paul and Silas sang while they were in prison - how were they able to do this? Because they knew that they were being held in God's hands and no matter what trials they endured it would all be to His glory and for their ultimate good. I don't think God would have opened the gates of the prison with an earthquake if Paul and Silas had been quaking in fear, and not trusting in God.


Also, I am to be known for my gentleness (v. 5), rather than for harshness or callousness. I can do this because the Lord is always at hand, and he will change my heart if I but ask.


I need to spend less time worrying, and more time praying and giving thanks to God for His blessings and His care for me. Only then will God work mightily in my behalf. He can't answer the prayer never prayed.


And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep my heart and mind through Christ Jesus.

Prayer

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21

Truth in Christ and through Christ is measureless. The student of Scripture looks, as it were, into a fountain that deepens and broadens as he gazes into its depths. Not in this life shall we comprehend the mystery of God's love in giving His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. The work of our Redeemer on this earth is and ever will be a subject that will put to the stretch our highest imagination. Man may tax every mental power in the endeavor to fathom this mystery, but his mind will become faint and weary. The most diligent searcher will see before him a boundless, shoreless sea.
The truth as it is in Jesus can be experienced, but never explained. Its height and breadth and depth pass our knowledge. We may task our imagination to the utmost, and then we shall see only dimly the outlines of a love that is unexplainable, that is as high as heaven, but that stooped to the earth to stamp the image of God on all mankind. COL 128, 129


I want to know more about God's love, to be rooted and grounded in it... and to be filled with it so I can have His love for everyone around me, because my love is imperfect and selfish.

Deut. 6

⁴Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

 ⁵And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

 ⁶And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

 ⁷And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

 ⁸And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

 ⁹And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

We must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness - that is seek to allow Christ to live in us and be our Righteousness - and then everything else will be taken care of. (Matt. 6:33)