Lesson 20
Don't Worry, Be Happy (Part 1 of 2)
Philippians 4:5-9
I am one of those people who is prone to worrying! I can worry about the known and the unknown. I can worry when things are not going well. I can worry when everything is going great. If I don't have a specific reason to worry, I can create one. I am so good at worry that I actually can convince myself that everyone should worry. If you refuse to worry with me, I think that you are unconcerned and selfish in forcing me to bear this burden alone! I want you to worry, too! My pessimism, my tendency to always focus on the negative possibilities, my anxiety can rob me of joy. I wonder, are there any other worry warts here?
Worry is actually harmful physically. Stress from worrying leads to heart attack, high blood pressure and strokes, headaches, stomach disorders like ulcers. ILLUSTRATION: The University of Chicago Medical Research Department wanted to do a study on ulcers. They tried everything they could think of to give dogs ulcers. But they couldn't and they decided that the reason was because they couldn't get the dogs to worry about anything. There is a physical price to pay for worrying.
There is also a spiritual side to worry. Worry is a form of faithlessness. It is a result of negative thinking. It is a result of insecurity. Worry can actually be a sin! Christians should be the most worry free people around! We are secure in our relationship to God and His promise to meet all our needs. We should be the most positive thinking people there are. We should be the most peaceful, tranquil, serene, content souls on the planet! We are told to be at peace among ourselves (I Thess. 5:16). We are told to strive to live a quiet and peaceable life (Romans 12:18). Yet our joy is stolen by our anxieties, our fears, our nervousness, our inner turmoil, our doubts, our insecurities and inferiorities, our negativism, our pessimism, our worrying.
The passage that forms our text for today is about winning over worry. It is about not allowing anxiety to steal away our joy. It is about experiencing peace. Real peace. God's peace!
Now the whole letter of Philippians centers around the subject of joy. 16 times Paul uses the word joy or rejoice in the 4 chapters of this epistle. "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice" could be the theme verse (4:4). In chapter 1, Paul's message is that we can joy in spite of problems by having a single mind (single-minded about the gospel). In chapter 2, he says that we can have joy in spite of people by having a submissive mind. In chapter 3, Paul wants us to know that we can have joy in spite of possessions by having a spiritual mind. In chapter 4, Paul tells us that we can have joy in spite of pressure through a secure mind.
Security of the mind comes from experiencing the peace of God. This section of the book (for today) has to do with peace. It is fitting that this would follow a section which dealt with the matter of problems.
In this section, Paul describes the peace of God, what it is like and how to have it. He does this through a list of instructions to the people at Philippi (read text).
I. God's Peace Explained, 4:5-6a, 7.
A. The Marks of God's Peace, v.5-6a.
In 3 short statements, Paul describes what it is like to have God's peace.
1. There is AN ATTIDUDE of moderation, v.5a. Banish our present usage of the word. We here people say things like, "Drinking is not sinful as long as it is done in moderation." That is not what the Greek word used here means. This word means "sweet reasonableness". It is gentleness (that's how the word is translated in II Cor. 10:1 where it is used to describe Christ). It is being just without being harsh. It is the opposite of being overbearing and unreasonable or obstinate. One of the marks of a person who has God's peace is his moderation, his sweet reasonableness, his gentleness. Paul writes that this attitude should evident to all men.
2. There is AN AWARENESS of God's presence, v5b
Paul is firing off this list of instructions "stand fast in the Lord" (v.1), "be of the same mind" (v.2), "rejoice in the Lord always" (v.4), "let your moderation be known unto all men" (v.5a) and he interjects "the Lord is at hand"! The word used here for "at hand" can be used with reference to space or time. So this statment has 2 possible meanings. It could mean "the Lord is nearby". *Ps.145:18 "The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him ... in truth." Paul suddenly had an awareness of the nearness of the Lord. He is living in the presence of God. That is cause for inner peace for a Christian. The statement could also have reference to time meaning, the Lord will be here at any moment. Paul could be referring to an awareness of the imminent return of Christ. This is also a cause for peace in the heart of a Christian, his awareness that at any moment Christ could come.
3. There is AN ABSENCE of anxiety, v.6a. When
The apostle writes, "Be careful for nothing" he is not promoting recklessness. The word careful literally means, full of cares. We are instructed not to be full of cares. * I Cor. 7:32 "But I would have you without carefulness". * I Peter 5:7 "Casting all your cares upon him ..." (see also *Matthew 6:25-34).
Don't worry. Don't be anxious. Don't be full of cares. Take no thought.
B. The Meaning Of God's Peace, v.7.
We are not talking about everyday, ordinary, run- of-the-mill peace. This is the peace of God. That is, the kind of peace which God has; the peace which describes God; the peace which can come only from God.
It is the peace of God which "passeth all understanding." It is supernatural. It is beyond human comprehension. Jesus said (*John 14:27), "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid." There is a peace that is understandable. If one has health, wealth, family and friends, there is a certain peace that can come which is understandable. But what about when life consists of tension and trouble, frustration and failure, when one comes to the breaking point and the boiling point, when there are problems and pressures? Even under the most severe of circumstances, the Christian can experience the peace of God which passes all understanding.
It "shall keep your heart and mind" (v.7). The word "keep" means to guard or protect. It is a military word used to describe how a garrison of soldiers would surround and secure a certain place. God's peace keeps our feelings and thoughts (heart and mind) secure. Amidst all of life's insecurities, and sources of worry, we can have a secure mind because of the peace of God. And this security is a key to joy.
There you have a description and a definition of the peace of God. It brings an attitude of sweet reasonableness, an awareness of God's presence, and an absence of anxiety. It is supernatural and beyond human comprehension. It is securing, protecting our feelings and thoughts.
Don't you long for that peace? Wouldn't you like to know how to have it? Next week ... Part 2: Experiencing God's Peace.