August 13, 2020

In times such as these, we can never be reminded too much of the peace of God. However, there are other things we need to hold onto and put into action on a daily basis. We need to know how to rejoice, treat others, and pray when we feel we are surrounded by nothing but chaos. The reason we know these things is because Paul was talking about them in the fourth chapter of Philippians. Make note, he mentions rejoice twice. That means rejoice is an important instruction going to the Philippians.
We also read about moderation in verse 5. Now this is not the moderation that you and I are familiar with in terms of doing something in moderation. I was perplexed as to why moderation would be used in this passage, so I did some research in Strong’s concordance. It seems that this word moderation is the Greek word epiekes, which means gentleness. So, in verses 4 and 5 we are to rejoice and be seen as gentle among people. As we read, we come across two very familiar verses. Be careful about nothing and pray about everything is a paraphrase that we have heard in some form or fashion as Philippians 4:6. As well as, there is a peace that passes all understanding which is paraphrased from Philippians 4:7.
LadyBug, how many times have you heard these scriptures taught one at time? If you are like me, many times you have heard them. However, there are very few times I have ever heard them in used in context all together. That being said, when we take all four scriptures together, we can then understand them in context.
You see, Paul is saying rejoice and rejoice some more. Then he goes on to say in your rejoicing, be gentle to those around you. In other words, show them kindness and joy. Of course, we all know that he begins to instruct us to be careful about nothing and pray always with a petition of requests for God. For even in the middle of chaos, we can rejoice, be kind and pray. When we do, we gain peace that goes beyond the understanding of our minds. As we walk in this peace, it begins to draw others into the goodness of God in the troublesome times.
Let us be the joy and kindness that draws other to the Kingdom.
~Cyndi Kay
Philippians 4:4-7