EquippedMama

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice! ⁵ Let everyone see your gentleness. The Lord is near! ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. ⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things. ⁹ And what you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:4-7, NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

I love Philippians 4.

Its not that I have it figured out, but on the heels of our discussion about anxiety and precipitating Thanksgiving in a few weeks, it is amazing how well this passage connects the ideas of peace and thanks. Within the world of parenting, there seems to be so many reasons to focus our attention away from gratitude and onto anxiety.

A concerning ultrasound can quickly consume our thoughts with relentless “what-ifs”.

An allergic reaction can make our minds race to worst-case scenarios and panic.

An obstinate comment or blatant rebellion can make us feel as if we’ve lost our control as parents and authority figures.

In every situation, in the life of each person who knows the Lord, this passage in Philippians brings encouragement.

He starts with a simple phrase- Rejoice always. Why might it be important to rejoice always? In a text that focuses on the importance of guarding against anxiety this seems like an odd place to start. But for those of us who know the Lord, we have so many reasons for relentless, all-consuming joy. Salvation. The work of the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s presence in our every day lives. These are all blessings that we can claim as ours-and they should be reasons for rejoicing!

So we know these things with our heads. But what happens when the “bad things” happen? What happens when our cow goes into labor on a cold, rainy afternoon and we are playing bovine OBGYN? (That happened during the writing of this post). What happens when we are inconvenienced by a friend? What happens when we are threatened by loss or destruction to our loved ones, self, or property?

We remember that the Lord is near. And in faith, we give thanks. We give thanks for the blessings we already are aware of, but we also give thanks for the situation itself. James 1 gives us a few good reasons for this gratitude when the writer states;

My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything.

James 1:2-4, NET

According to this passage, then, we can give thanks that the Lord does not waste any situation or circumstance. He uses every trail for the development of our faith, that we can look more like Christ every day.

We can also give thanks that the Lord listens to the prayers and petitions that we bring to him, and that he does promise to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

As we approach Thanksgiving this year, there very likely are situations in your life that are challenging your peace and threatening you with anxiety. Consider in these situations the peace offered you in the Lord, who promises to guard your heart and mind. He might not take away the situation, but regardless the outcome, he remains near, listening to your prayers, and using the situation for your sanctification, if you allow him to. So bring your prayers to him, and leave them there, in thanksgiving.

¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body to this peace), and be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:15-17, NET

Note: One of our cows really did have a baby during the writing of this post. I figured you might like to see Baby and Mama! Both are doing great!