Stand Firm, Don’t Worry, Pray About Everything
So then3, my friends, how dear you are to me and how I miss you! How happy you make me, and how proud I am of you!—this, dear friends, is how you should stand firm in your life in the Lord. Euodia and Syntyche, please, I beg you, try to agree as sisters in the Lord. And you too, my faithful partner, I want you to help these women; for they have worked hard with me to spread the gospel, together with Clement and all my other fellow workers, whose names are in God’s book of the living. May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. I say it again: rejoice! Show a gentle attitude toward everyone. The Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus. [GNB]Phil 4:1-7
The above appears to be how Paul felt to divide his sections. The following section begins with:
In conclusion4, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honourable.
Which as you can see is marked by a concluding conjunction 4 and the appearance once more of the reference to his friends.
Consequently that leaves us with the remainder of the opening section above to deal with:
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 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. [NLT]Phil 4:4-7
Allow me to lay out the propositions in a manner in which we can see the connections clearly.
Always be full of joy
in the Lord.
I say it again — rejoice!
Let everyone see that
you are considerate
in all you do.
Remember
the Lord is coming soon.
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.
Look at the title:
- Stand firm
- Don’t worry
- Pray about everything
So then, my friends . . . here’s how to have the mind (attitude) of Christ and follow His example.
- Always be full of joy
- I say it again: rejoice
Χαίρετε . . . χαίρετε
χαίρετε means ‘to rejoice’, ‘be joyful’, ‘be filled with joy’.
But interestingly it can also mean “farewell” or “goodbye”. It is the Greek version of the Hebrew “shalom” – “Peace I leave with you.” Only in this case it is “joy I leave with you.” Why the repetition? For emphasis but it is also a strengthening of the present continuous tense of the verb [χαίρετε] to extend the presence or the influence or effect of that joy. “Joy joy to you.” But is this also an extension or onset of the leave taking of verse 8? Finally, farewell. Again I say it finally. After having given his advice to us of how to conduct ourselves, Paul reminds us to have the mind of Christ . . . always . . . in anything and . . . everything. All these reactions emanate from being In Christ, having the mind of Christ, following the example of Christ. If not Christ, then Paul and all who follow him and exemplify the same mindset.
- Let everyone see that you are [ἐπιεικὲς].
- Literally: Let your [ἐπιεικὲς] be made known to all men.
Firstly from the point of view of time frame. That is, given what has gone before, what has transpired in our collective experience in Philippi, then let that be a motivating factor for what is still to come. As you rejoiced in the previous things you experienced, so too rejoice in what is to come. Philippians is a rejoicing letter; a letter marked by the joy of the LORD. But there is another aspect to it, well, two dimensions actually. Another reason for doing it is because Christ is soon to return! The Lord who was resurrected is soon to appear for the coming Day of the Lord, as Paul has already reminded us. Remember! Remember! He talked of that event at the end of Phil 2:5-11, when He will appear and every knee will bow and every tongue confess. That my friends, is a good reason to follow the mind of Christ and cultivate His attitude. However, there is yet another dimension to Paul’s injunction for the Philippians to rejoice and be considerate in all they do. The literal Greek words here are:
ὁ Κύριος ἐγγύς
the LORD near
Yes, these words can be interpreted in the context of the Second Coming being near at hand. But they can also contain the sense of being close by or near at hand at any time. The members of the Godhead are always just a breath away, close by, on the other side of the veil. God and therefore Jesus and the Holy Spirit are “the unseen guest”, the silent listener to every utterance, the unseen observer to every action. Thus Father God, Jesus (the Son) and the Holy Spirit are omniscient. That fact alone is a strong motivating factor to desire always to consider “what Jesus would do”.
Don’t miss the final point, that [pasin anthropois] means all men. All of mankind!. Yes ladies, including you, but also including believers and non-believers. You need to make it a point to be considerate to everyone you meet or encounter, Christian and non-Christian alike.
Kindness is never wasted. If it has no effect on the receiver, at least it benefits the giver.
Mark Twain
Be kind to yourself. God thinks you’re worth His kindness and He’s a good judge of character.
Max Lucado
To the selfish, ‘giving’ is a dirty word.
C. J. Metzler
Our character becomes credible and more Christlike as we move from selfish to selfless.
Ian Vail