Philippians 4:5-7
Do Not Be Anxious
5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the
peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
1 John 4:18
There is No Fear in Love
18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
2 Corinthians 11:16-29
Paul's Service and His Sufferings
16 I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then tolerate me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. 17 In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. 18 Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast. 19 You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! 20 In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face. 21 To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that!
Whatever anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder,been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?
Can you imagine being in prison?...What would you say or write if you were in jail?...Paul had been in jail frequently...Paul had been flogged many times and severely...He had been exposed to death again and again...Five times he had received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one...Three times he was beaten with rods, once he was pelted with stones, three times he was shipwrecked...He had spent a night and a day in the open sea, and had been constantly on the move...He had seen danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from his fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers...He was constantly in danger...He had labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep...He knew of hunger and thirst and have often gone without food...He had been cold and naked...Besides all these things, he had faced daily the pressure of his great concern for all the churches that he had started and was trying to start...
Paul had his many, many thoughts of concern and worry...Paul certainly had things he could have worried about...Depending on our circumstances, it is often very difficult not to worry or be anxious...Can you imagine not to worry about anything at all?...Yet, this is what Paul instructs us to do...Paul wrote do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, and 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...
And here was a man that was in jail many times...A man who had been beaten and flogged many times, because he preached the gospel of Jesus Christ...How many of us would allow someone to flog us and to be continued to be thrown in jail, and we would still continue to write or preach the teachings of Jesus?...In fact, the letters to Ephesians, the Philippians, the Colossians and to Philemon, are frequently called the Prison Epistles...Most think these letters are wrote while he is being held in Rome awaiting trial...Historians also think that he was held in Caesarea for two years and his total prison time was five to six years...Some people after so many trouble times, might have become cynical and calloused...Some people might have quit the gospel route, and gave up on starting and sustaining the new churches that they started -not St. Paul...
St. Paul positively persevered...Can you imagine what your mood and attitude would be like if you were in custody and prison for six years?...Could you be productive, as in the context of St. Paul is in converting people to the gospel, or anything for that matter?...Could you write to be gentle to others?...While in jail or being held a prisoner could you write to others to be anxious about nothing?...He is writing these things from jail...It is easy to tell someone not to worry or not be anxious when things are going good for you, but this is much different...
When Paul said, "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.", does not sound like one who is in jail...When I first read the Bible, I did not fully understand that St. Paul had written the epistles of Ephesians, the Philippians, the Colossians and to Philemon while he was in jail...He seemed so upbeat, so positive...Always looking to God and to Jesus...Now I read these four letters with a much different mindset...St. Paul was in jail and still very positive and upbeat...What the Great Saint knew was that the LORD was near him...And the peace of God transcends all understanding (including jail)...And these things guided and guarded his heart and his mind toward Jesus Christ...St. Paul understood what St. John wrote -there is something that transcends all things, including fear...What Jesus brought and teaches to all of us is all about love...There is no fear in love...He wrote many of his sacred writings, while in jail -with this great Love in his heart...Something was more real to Paul than worry, fear, or anxiousness...St. Paul had this Great Hope that transcends all of his worries and all of his fears, because he held in his heart that the LORD is near...