Philippians 4:4-9 (NIV) Rejoice!
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 every situation, 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 and sisters, 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.
Psalm 147 (NIV)
His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;
the Lord delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.
Psalm 27
Of David
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
Devotion
For as long as I have been studying scripture, I have been drawn to Phil 4:4-9. The sheer abundance, trust, and, well, joy in this passage, along with the acknowledgment that the peace of God is mysterious, relaxes something in me. Peace — God-level peace — along with Joy are not something I can create out of my own heart or energy. They are gifts. I can cultivate these gifts by prayer and thanksgiving. I can think of good things (verse 8). I can practice sharing peace and joy and gentleness with others.
I may not actually do a good job following all this, especially not if I wake up in the before-dawn hours of the night and don’t immediately fall back to sleep. The anxious nights and deep worry about the future and everyone I love can swallow me whole.
I imagine that Peter, James, John, and the rest will feel exactly this fear in just a short time after the Wednesday before the Passover. They won’t have these words from Paul, but they would have the Psalms. They might remember Psalm 147:10-11. God does not favor the war horse or the warrior with impressive physical strength. God favors those who “who put their hope in his unfailing love.” And that might lead to Psalm 27:14.
Just wait.
Just breathe.
Just wait for the Lord.
The time right “now” — The Wednesday of Holy Week — praise and thanksgiving and love and victory seem to perfume the air because we know that Sunday is coming; but the disciples do not know this. The world is going to crash down on them. Yet even that despair and fear will end with Jesus redeemed, healed, restored. Just wait and see!
Rejoicing!
Prayer
Gracious God
May we give thanksgiving on ordinary Wednesdays
as well as terrible Fridays
And forsaken Saturdays.
Give us the trust and patience
To wait for Your glorious
And mysterious Sunday grace.
We thank you God,
For your love of us
That sees all and loves all, with joy.
Rachel Ann Russell