THE PRESCRIPTION FOR PEACE (5 OF 8)
by Keith Krell
Scripture: Philippians 4:4-7
This content is part of a series.
The Prescription for Peace (5 of 8)
Series: Winning Over Worry
Keith Krell
Philippians 4:4-7
We are now in the month of May-month four of COVID-19. This has been a very traumatic season for all of us . . . for some even more than others. Some of us have lost jobs, others have lost finances, and still others have lost loved ones. Mental illness and domestic violence are on the rise due to the nature of this pandemic. Political suspicion and disunity abound. There are families who long to marry off their children or bury their loved ones, but they aren't able to do so in the ways that they had planned. All of these difficulties can bring on anxiety with a capital A. Anxiety may be the biggest issue in our lives right now! So how can we deal with our anxiety?
While anxiety isn't sin, living there is. While we may be living in a place of shelter, we need to be careful not to live in a place of anxiety. Of course, we can't just be told: ''Don't worry! Don't be anxious! Just stop it!'' Instead, we need to replace anxiety with its opposite-peace. In order to subdue our anxious thoughts, we need something even more powerful . . . the Lord Himself and the peace that He provides. In Philippians 4, we'll be studying four verses (4:4-7) and four key words to help us deal with anxiety: Rejoice, Relax, Release, and Rest.
1. Rejoice in difficult circumstances (4:4). No matter what comes our way, Paul provides hope that we can live above our circumstances and rejoice. ''Rejoice'' (or forms of the word) occurs 16 times in a mere four chapters. In 4:4, Paul writes: ''Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!'' Paul begins with not one but two commands to ''rejoice.'' He doesn't give us good advice; he commands us to rejoice! (This is what I like to call a double exclamation point command. I'd encourage you to put two exclamation points in your Bible after both uses of ''rejoice.'') The fact that the verb ''rejoice'' is a command shows that rejoicing in ...
Series: Winning Over Worry
Keith Krell
Philippians 4:4-7
We are now in the month of May-month four of COVID-19. This has been a very traumatic season for all of us . . . for some even more than others. Some of us have lost jobs, others have lost finances, and still others have lost loved ones. Mental illness and domestic violence are on the rise due to the nature of this pandemic. Political suspicion and disunity abound. There are families who long to marry off their children or bury their loved ones, but they aren't able to do so in the ways that they had planned. All of these difficulties can bring on anxiety with a capital A. Anxiety may be the biggest issue in our lives right now! So how can we deal with our anxiety?
While anxiety isn't sin, living there is. While we may be living in a place of shelter, we need to be careful not to live in a place of anxiety. Of course, we can't just be told: ''Don't worry! Don't be anxious! Just stop it!'' Instead, we need to replace anxiety with its opposite-peace. In order to subdue our anxious thoughts, we need something even more powerful . . . the Lord Himself and the peace that He provides. In Philippians 4, we'll be studying four verses (4:4-7) and four key words to help us deal with anxiety: Rejoice, Relax, Release, and Rest.
1. Rejoice in difficult circumstances (4:4). No matter what comes our way, Paul provides hope that we can live above our circumstances and rejoice. ''Rejoice'' (or forms of the word) occurs 16 times in a mere four chapters. In 4:4, Paul writes: ''Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!'' Paul begins with not one but two commands to ''rejoice.'' He doesn't give us good advice; he commands us to rejoice! (This is what I like to call a double exclamation point command. I'd encourage you to put two exclamation points in your Bible after both uses of ''rejoice.'') The fact that the verb ''rejoice'' is a command shows that rejoicing in ...
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