Finally, here we are. Talking about the present. Because that’s where we live. Today. It’s easy to see lessons and morals of the stories from our past. And it’s easy to think of the future with high hopes and dreams and rose-colored glasses, but we live in the mundane every day. And it’s fun to be here and study our Bibles all day and laugh and stay up late and eat whatever we want and play outside and hike and swim and just love everything. But today we go home. We go home to jobs, family, roommates. Mundane days. Tasks. We have rooms to clean, meals to make. Many of us probably have jobs that we don’t love. We have little kids to nanny, difficult situations to face. That’s the nitty gritty of daily life. And that’s where Christ is our peace.
I experienced this sort of let-down recently when we went on vacation (camping, playing, extra hands to help with kids, etc.) Then we got home. All of a sudden we plummeted from cloud 9. The house was a mess, we had mountains of laundry to do, the kids were cranky and tired, we had tons of yard projects to tackle, we were all hungry with no food in the house, and that is life. We don’t live life at retreats or campgrounds or on vacation. We live life doing mundane tasks, in mundane and/or difficult situations. So how do we live for Christ in the present. With Christ as our peace.
Because I find that the stresses of each moment are usually more than the worries of the future. It’s often the little things of each day (messes, not having anything to wear, just feeling grumpy or moody, interpersonal weirdness, busyness, etc. etc. etc.), these little things that most often disrupt my peace. Way more often than the big things of the future. I never get bent out of shape thinking about Dutch’s college education. I do get pretty grumpy though when he won’t lie down for his nap. That disrupts my peace.
So the present. What do we see here for the present? We don’t have to wonder, we have here some very clear commands, from Philippians 3:4-9
“Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice… do not be anxious 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 midns in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me–practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you” (vv4-9).
Here’s what I see:
- Rejoice in the Lord always (v.4). This is not a suggestion. It is a command. Rejoice is a command. How do you rejoice. We choose to find joy in a situation. This is positive thinking that’s based on faith and truth. It’s not just trying to think happy thoughts, it’s choosing to focus on the things that give us cause to rejoice. And, when we are in Christ, we have plenty of things to rejoice in! Can you list things, real things, that give you cause to rejoice today?
- Do not be anxious (v.6). Again, not a suggestion. To worry is to sin. Isn’t that crazy? When we are anxious, we are not walking by faith. I struggle with this sooo often. Sometimes, when I let all the little considerations of life creep in, I can feel so anxious it just paralyzes me. We must choose to not be anxious.
- Instead, pray (v.6). This is how we experience God’s peace. When we are anxious (daily), we are to stop, choose to rejoice, choose to thank God, and then present all our needs and worries and requests and needs to Him. Give it all to Him! Roll over every worry and concern. Tell Him how you feel. Be honest. Way too often we vent our real thoughts to our friends and yet when we talk to God we get all religious and fake. One read through the Psalms shows us this is what David did. Don’t vent to friends, vent to God. Tell Him all. He can take it.
- Receive God’s peace (v.7). Choose to rest in God’s peace. Abide in it. It never leaves. You might leave, but it doesn’t. Stay there. How do we stay there?
- Fix your mind on…(v.8) whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, praiseworthy. Isaiah 26:3 “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You.” This is also a command. Again, what are you feeding your mind? We must choose to fix our minds on things that are praiseworthy. It’s all about our minds. God’s perfect peace is for those whose minds are stayed on Him.
- Practice what you’ve learned (v.9). It’s game day! We’ve learned, prayed, studied. We’ve meditated and played and gotten refreshed and refilled. Now, it’s time to put it all into practice. And that’s how we grow in this walk with God. By practice practice practice. It might feel hard at first, awkward, forced. But soon we will find ourselves loving each other with humility, fixing our mind on Christ as our goal, forgetting the past, trust Him with worries, growing more and more in love with Jesus. We grow by simply practicing what we know.
And the promise? “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me–practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you” (v.9).
What have you learned and received and heard and seen this weekend? What was your “aha!” moment. What nugget did you get? What is your takeway? Whatever it is, put it into practice, and the God of peace will be with you. Share with someone here what it is that you will put into practice upon going home. And rest in God’s peace, because for us to live is Christ.