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 Words of Encouragement 

Philippians 4:4-9 – ‘Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again – rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me – everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.’ 

Praise be to the Lord! We are getting settled into the first couple weeks of the New Year and I hope you all are starting a new year with many blessings. The word of this week is to meditate on this passage – ‘Words of Encouragement.’ All of us need words of encouragement from our friends, our families, people we love. Paul provides a beautiful roadmap for how we are to live as Christians – how to live with happiness and experience peace and how to keep our minds fixed on the things that matter the most. 

Rejoice in the Lord

‘Always be full of Joy in the Lord’ Rejoice in the dictionary defines to be incredibly happy, or to express your incredible happiness. This doesn’t mean feeling good or celebrating happy moments. It’s about finding our joy with God himself. Our joy is not rooted in circumstances but in the unchanging love of God. 

Do not worry about anything but pray 

This verse is repeated many times in our lives, God tells us not to worry but it’s probably one of the hardest emotions we tend to face. We worry about finances, the future, our families, if we may be failures – there are many things humans overthink about and rack our heads with however God simply says ‘Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.’ When we pray, we are not simply asking God for our needs; we are expressing our trust in his ability to provide. The peace that is delivered to us by God is a supernatural peace that guards our hearts and minds.  

This life isn’t easy, your faith will always get tested in many different ways but it allows us to rejoice in the Lord, trust in God through prayer, and focus on what is good. When we live out these principles, we will experience the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. 

Prayer: 

Lord, I thank you for the peace you have offered me. Father, I pray that I live in unity with one another and always rejoice in you, trust you with all my worries and my mind to see what is good. May your peace guard my heart and my mind as I live for you. Amen! 

Written by: p. abi