Philippians 4:4-9
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
We’ve got to step outside of our self deception, we’ve got to quit lying to ourselves when we read scripture. If you’re anything like me, (and there’s a huge possibility that you’re nothing like me) when I read scripture, I’m way too quick to say, “yea, I do that” without really stopping fully to inspect myself and my habits and ask myself if I really am doing what the scripture says. (follow me so far?)
I think that when I read my Bible and I’m quick to say “yea, I do that”, what I really mean is “yea, I’d really like to do that”. But it seems like too often I don’t take the time to apply it to my life. I check off my Christian box for the day, but don’t always make the truth of the scripture a reality. I wish I did.
I felt this way when I read today’s Bible verses. I read about rejoicing always and praying continually and thought, “well, I do that”. But I don’t. Not always and continually. There are a couple of days in a row, or even weeks in a row where I have done it before, but always is always and continually is continually. So, no breaks right!?
I don’t curse God, so I’m not saying that I do the opposite of rejoicing. But I don’t rejoice in the Lord always, and there are times where worries take the place of prayers. I get tired of the hassle at work, I feel overwhelmed by responsibilities, sometimes it feels easy to sleep in – spiritually speaking.
My prayer this morning is that I find a way to celebrate God all the time, every day, no matter what. No matter my stress level, no matter how tough work gets, no matter how sleepy I am, no matter if it’s raining and the dog gets mud all over the carpet, no matter anything. I want my rejoicing and praise and worship of God to mold my worries into prayers. I want to seek God with all of my energy. I don’t ever want to give up. I want God to work His most excellent harmonies in me!
So there it is. If none of this makes sense to you or if you can’t connect with these scenarios, then I guess this was just my time of confession and prayer before God. But if you can relate to some of this stuff today, then hit me up and we can start sharing ideas, helping with accountability, rejoicing together, always praising our God and praying about anything and everything, all the time!
Related Text:
Psalm 62:5-6
“Rest in God alone, my soul,
for my hope comes from Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I will not be shaken.”
