Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

           Text: Philippians 4:4-7, but especially these words –

           Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dear Friends in Christ Jesus:

           The last century has been dominated by insecurity. Over ninety years ago the world was rocked by the Great Depression. Most of us can remember our parents, with much pain and emotion, speaking about the Great Depression of 1929 when banks closed, when savings were wiped out, and when once hardworking people were suddenly unemployed and were now lined up for welfare assistance. At various intervals during the past ninety years we have been hit hard by what economists call “recession.” And fifty years ago we were beginning a period of runaway inflation.

           Whether we are in a period of depression, recession, or inflation, during times such as these, people find it very hard to enjoy those blessings that they have already received from their God. During times of unrest, people find themselves almost overwhelmed by concerns for their future. 

In a sense, such concerns are very natural, and when we see people acting tense and irritable because of them, we can understand why they feel as they do. We, as the people of God, are not exempt from the same worries, pressures, and tensions.

           But here, in the midst of such tensions and concerns, St. Paul comes along in the text for this morning and tells us to rejoice always. It almost seems like too much. When he tells us to lead a life of consistent joy, we’re tempted to tell the apostle Paul to give this command to someone else, or to come back some other time when we don’t have so many worries and concerns. After all, how can we rejoice when we are surrounded by so much insecurity?

           Whether it be depression, inflation, or recession – whether we are talking about the destiny of our nation or merely looking at our own troubles and problems – in the middle of such trials it is hard, very hard, to always be joyful. For the sad fact for all of us – and periods of trouble only bring this truth home to us more forcefully – is that we can rejoice only on those rare occasions when things seem to be going our way. And it is truly a rare occasion for most of us when we feel everything is turning in our direction.

           When our income doesn’t grow fast enough to keep up with the cost of living, when we face troubles and worries, when things don’t go well at home, at work, on the farm, or in the office, it is impossible for us to be joyful at all times. We may indulge ourselves in a few brief moments of joy. But to be consistently joyful – that’s quite another thing.

           We need to be honest with ourselves. If we cannot be joyful all of the time, evidently we have not yet learned the secret that St. Paul emphasizes in the words of the text. The apostle Paul isn’t making a demand that he regards as unattainable. Neither is he giving us advice in a matter he knows nothing about. St. Paul knows how we can attain real, consistent joy, because he knows how he has attained it himself. And he realizes that to have that kind of joy is just as possible for us as it was for him.

           But first of all we need to realize our problem. Perhaps because we have been living through so much instability and uncertainty, we have come to believe that to be joyful we need to depend on things, material things. If we have enough money in the bank, if we have enough put aside for that proverbial rainy day, if we have homes, and enough cars, televisions, and other appliances and conveniences, we feel that we can be joyful. And if something comes along to threaten our possession of these things, we find ourselves distressed and disappointed.

           But St. Paul managed to escape from this kind of trap that so subtly and yet so effectively robs us of joy. For in the text for this morning, he tells us that he has learned first of all to be content, no matter what condition he has faced.  He reminds us that there were times in his life when he had an abundance of goods, wealth, and food. But for some strange reason the Word of God is silent about those periods when St. Paul experienced these things.

           Yet there also were times when he went without the necessities of life and suffered adversity, hardship, hunger, and misery. But what he insists on is that, regardless his own fortunes, he could be joyful because he had learned to be content with his situation in life. What is of the greatest importance for us is why the apostle Paul could be content. It wasn’t because of some strong, inner force – his self-discipline. The reason he could be content is that he knew, no matter what the trial or need, that his God was always near. Knowing this, St. Paul didn’t have to worry about anything. He could go to his God at any time and let his God know what he needed.

           St. Paul was not an excessively, overly confident person. He wasn’t a blind optimist who ignored the perils he had to face.  Anyone familiar with the apostle Paul’s writings knows that he did experience periods in which he was utterly, unbearably crushed. He had a thorn in the flesh which he begged God to remove. And St. Paul still heard God deny that request. But he also could say that he knew that God would guard and keep all that he as His apostle had entrusted to His care. For this reason, St. Paul assures us that he could do everything with the help of his God. For God supplied strength to do what needed to be done.

           Paul’s life was not a bed of roses, not an easy way. He experienced poverty, weakness, and hunger as well as success, prosperity, and strength. But through it all he knew that His God would be with him always, that his God had marked him as His own in his baptism, that his God had died on Calvary’s cross for even the worst of sinners, that his God had made Paul’s body His temple. St. Paul knew that with the gift of Jesus God would give him everything. So what was there to threaten his joy? He was beyond the reach of anything that could try to separate him from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

           It is from these experiences that St. Paul tells us that we, too, can be joyful always. We have the same promises that God gave to Paul. We have the same God who has adopted each of us to be His dearly loved children. We have the same God who loved each of us so much that He gladly left His throne in heaven and came to earth as our Brother – to suffer and die for us so that we need never fear death or any other enemy. We have the same God who fills us with every good and perfect gift – not because we deserve His gifts but rather because He loves us and wants to give us everything He has that is for our good.

           Because St. Paul knew such a God, he could be content no matter what condition or situation he faced in his life. Because the apostle Paul knew such a God, he was convinced that he could do everything through the God who gave him strength to face any challenge.

           You and I have the very same promises that St. Paul had. Would God have placed more than 7,000 promises in His Word if He didn’t care about our every need, down to the very hairs that fall from our head? We can live the same life of confident joy that Paul enjoyed. We, too, can always be joyful. But only if we fix our joy on the fantastic promises that our God has made to us.

           We don’t have to let any worry steal that joy from us when we take our needs, our concerns, our cares to our God. St. Paul assures us in the text for today that our Lord is near. With that assurance, we can experience God’s peace that surpasses all comprehension and that will guard our hearts and minds through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Friend.



           It’s a tremendous life, a life of permanent joy and of peaceful contentment, when we live life as the apostle Paul did, trusting in God’s promises. May that life be ours, now and forever. Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.