March 8, 2017 – Philippians 4

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Don’t Worry, Be Happy!  That is not Apostle Paul writes!  Don’t worry,  tell God what we need, pray, and thank Him for all He has done!  This brings the peace that guards our hearts, minds and our lives.   Living in Christ Jesus is better than taking a pill for peace. It lasts for an eternity, not for twelve hours.

But how can that be?  I want peace and I want it right now!  As a child, my mother told me to think about beautiful things if I couldn’t sleep.  Her examples were always the beautiful things God made. Rainbows, flowers, and butterflies.

I attended Choir practice on Wednesday nights as I grew up. I still remember the voice and the words as the contralto sang these words!  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid…. To this day, John 14:1-4, is my favorite scripture when I feel angst.

Verse Eight creates a discipline difficult to achieve in this age of doom and fear if we constantly listen to the news.   How refreshing it is, a drink of living water, to contemplate each word.  A heavenly oasis of words that quenches our thirst for deep spiritual beauty.  True, honorable, right, pure, lovely, excellent, worthy of praise, and admirable — Think on these things.

Let today be the first day of worry-free living!  Trust, think, pray, and give thanks always to our Lord Jesus Christ.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8