Philippians 4:1-9

Philippians focuses a lot on being joyful in all circumstances. Seeking God and knowing Him more so that joy always is possible. In this passage, we see this again encouraged by Paul. For me to understand the beginning of chapter 4, I needed to go back to the second half of chapter three to see what exactly it was that Paul was telling the Philippians when he said “this is how you should stand firm in the Lord”. This is what I found:
1. We are to press on toward our goal, which is heaven and Christ/pleasing Him. That should be our desire and attitude. I hate finding myself in a complaining attitude, which happens quite a bit to be honest. The reason I hate it so much, is because I know I have so much to be thankful for- salvation, provisions, loved ones and laughter. There should be no room for complaining. I am easily selfish and “feel sorry for myself” when there are so many other reasons to be sad, like Paul for example weeping for the lost.
2. We are to live up to what we have attained, our salvation. We need to live like we have been given this gift. When you are given a great gift, how do you react? Do you complain or scowl? No! It temporarily fills us with happiness. This other gift I am talking about though, it is eternal. We sure don’t act like it. We are not perfect but will continue to be sanctified, but we have Jesus now and it should be evident. We are daily called to walk in the way that we talk. No double face stuff. That is not standing firm.
3. Another way we can stand firm is by standing with others, especially those who are wiser by age and spiritual walk. If you surround yourself with genuine people who know how to stand firm, and do a good job at it, there is no room for anything but growth for you. In those people you have ears that will listen, mouths for guidance and arms for comfort.

In Chapter 4, we see even more ways to stand firm that follow up the ones I just listed. REJOICE in the Lord. He is the only consistent, the only for sure, and the only satisfaction that we will ever know here on this earth. Even when our circumstances are incomparable, He is the same and has your best interest. “The Lord is near”. Verse 6 commands us to not be anxious for these reasons. The reward of those who obey is God’s peace past understanding to guard their minds and hearts. The more we are able to give Him the hardships of life and trust Him with them, the more that all surpassing peace will be a part of our lives. The thing I want to leave you with is a final, very important factor of standing firm. It is our thoughts. This summer we memorized a verse or two about where our thoughts should be. Do you remember still? Do you remember it when you are thinking about all the unimportant things in life? I am one of the worst on this subject. It has been a battle in my life as long as I can remember. Paul tells us that the true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy things are what we should be thinking about. It always brings me back to Col. 3:1-2. Keep your minds (and your hearts even) on things above. In doing so, you practice standing firm.

--Kristi Smith, Assisant Summer Camp Director