My new book A Few Minutes in Philippians is now available in paperback and on Kindle! This is a four-week daily devotional taken from one of my favorite books of the Bible. Here is an excerpt:
Week Three, Day One: Philippians 3:1
“Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.”
Safeguard—to safely guard. The idea of safety has never seemed more important in the world. Sadly, it has also rarely seemed more elusive.
Danger and despair seemingly lurk around every corner. It is no wonder anxiety and fear are at an all-time high! It is clear that the Church is not immune, but how should we respond in Christ? How do we allow the very things that make us feel so unsafe in the world draw us to a place of deeper faith and safety in Him?
That’s what Paul was trying to communicate to the Philippians. Whatever happened to him, he wanted them to remain strong in their faith. And how did he expect them to do that?
By rejoicing in the Lord.
That was the whole game plan—rejoice in the Lord. Whatever happened to Paul—rejoice in the Lord. Whatever happened to them—rejoice in the Lord. Whatever happened to those they loved—rejoice in the Lord.
It is easy to read these familiar words and turn them into a platitude. Without deeper context, they can seem almost like a bandage on a bullet wound! Here you go, never mind that your heart is broken and your life is shattered into a million pieces, just rejoice in the Lord and everything will be okay.
But what happens when everything isn’t okay?
And that is exactly the point. Nothing was okay in Paul’s circumstances—nothing. Nothing, that is, except His relationship with Jesus.
If I’m honest, I have to admit that sometimes Paul’s overcoming joy makes me feel a bit inadequate. As I said in the introduction, I’ve always seen Philippians as a real-world kind of book and not lofty theology. Its application is intended to be practical, not impossible. So when I have been continually confronted with the exhortation to rejoice during a time when my own heart has been frequently breaking, I’ve had to make a choice. I can let myself feel condemned—like I just don’t measure up because I can’t seem to make myself stay happy enough. Or I can try to confess all the right theological things and pretend I’ve apprehended a level of overcoming joy that I know simply isn’t true in my heart. On the surface, it may appear those are the only choices available. But along the way I’ve discovered a third choice:
I can rejoice in the Lord. Even when it doesn’t look or feel at all like I might expect it to.
Today, rejoicing in the Lord looked like having the freedom to be exactly where I was (which wasn’t a great place for a moment there) but being there with Him. He is joy, so inviting His presence into wherever I am—even in the midst of heartbreak—is a very real way of rejoicing in the Lord. Because in His presence is fullness of joy.
Joy can be loud. Joy can be quiet. Joy can be an overflow of emotion, or completely devoid of emotion. But always joy is abiding communion with the One who is joy incarnate.
So here’s how to safeguard your faith dear ones …
“Whatever happens … rejoice in the Lord.”
In the actual book, there are also some “points to ponder” at the end of each chapter, along with an activation. Since we don’t yet have an audible version of the book available, I also started a new weekly feature on my podcast (The Presence Driven Life), called Fridays in Philippians. The are very short episodes–usually just 6-7 minutes—jand feature a single devotion from the book. They will be released in order and started January 2nd. You can click the link above for the our hosting website which has links to several podcast platforms. Or here is a specific link to last week’s episode (which was actually chapter two) on Apple.
Cindy Powell 