Philippians 4:1-9
Rejoice in the Lord
1 Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!
Exhortations
2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 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. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
The first few times I read this epistle, I did not know St. Paul was in prison writing this...He does not seem anxious or upset as we read his different prison epistles...
I have anxiety and have had it most of my life...It has been cause by negative thoughts...And if I were in prison or jail, I would be very much anxious...Yet, as we read the above verses St. Paul is in prison...Yet he does not seem to be anxious at all as he writes this letter to the Philippians...St. Paul, to me, seems to be positive, with positive thoughts...
St. Paul writes rejoice in the LORD always...I will say it again: Rejoice!...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...And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus...Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things...Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice...And the God of peace will be with you...
Paul did what made him happy...He loved reading and learning about Jesus and the gospel...And he put into practice what he enjoyed...So from this I have learned, if you like music, listen to music and sing...If you like to read, read...If you like to work, then work...
So as I read this letter, I feel St. Paul has learned to be content in his many different situations in life, even while he was in prison...For as we think and the thoughts we have, is what we feel and what are emotions are (this is one of the bases of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)...What we think is how we feel...So for all that you do each day comes from what you think and believe and are focused on...As the Proverb author writes, so from everything you do flows from it...When your heart and thoughts are gentile, coming from a view of righteousness, are pure, lovely, and kind, your thinking helps you stay healthy and positive and in joy...And the peace of God will be with you...