Live at Cross Connection Church

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble... meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. — Philippians 4:4-9

In a season of global chaos, Scripture shows how the people of God can rejoice, stay steady, and rest in the peace that guards the heart.

Living in Unprecedented Times

I think you would agree that we are living in unprecedented times, a truly historic period. The circumstances we find ourselves in—not just as a nation but as a world—are bizarre. As I shared last week, it sometimes feels like we are living in the midst of a movie. At the end of 2019, I had a strong impression that 2020 would be a year of chaos, mostly because of the political campaign season ahead. I certainly was not expecting everything that has happened over the last several weeks in our nation and the world.

This last week I've been confronted repeatedly with a simple question, from people in our church and from other pastors: how should we respond as Christians to everything going on in the world? I think there are three important things to consider.

Respond with Wisdom

First, we should respond as much as possible with wisdom. I keep hearing people say, "out of an abundance of caution, we're going to do A, B, C." That's well and good, but I think we should decide what we do out of an abundance of wisdom, seeking that wisdom from the Scriptures. We spent quite a while in Deuteronomy 1 talking about the importance of leaders who are wise, knowledgeable, and understanding.

This is why we're gathering online this weekend rather than in the building. Out of wisdom, in light of the medical community's recommendations to flatten the curve and slow the spread, this is the wise thing to do. For a church whose mission is life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus, it feels strange to talk about social distancing. But to help the medical community respond and to help those who are sick, this is the wise way for us to gather. Even apart in the same space, we can be one in Christ. God gave us minds to think rationally—though there does seem to be an awful lot of irrationality in our culture right now, judging by the photos people keep sending me of empty toilet paper shelves and long lines outside Costco.

Respond as Circumstances Arise

Second, we are going to respond to circumstances as they arise. I tend to think things out weeks or months in advance, but in a situation where everything changes constantly, that simply isn't possible. We can only respond to what we know, to what's right in front of us. I shared last week the story from Max Lucado's The Woodcutter's Wisdom, where the woodcutter, whatever happens, keeps responding, "All I know is this."

The apostle James gave wise counsel on this 2,000 years ago:

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." — James 4:13-15

For the planners among us, including myself, this is one of those times when we simply have to say, "Lord, whatever You will in this situation."

Learn to Trust the Lord

Third, we are going to seek to trust the Lord and learn to trust Him more deeply. Examining my own heart this last week, I see I have much to learn about trusting in the Lord. Solomon's words apply: trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. We will always experience challenges; through them, the Lord wants us to learn to rely on Him.

How will we respond to one another? We'll continue doing what the church has done for centuries—praying for one another, comforting, supporting, and bearing one another's burdens. The "one anothers" of the Bible can teach us much during this time about being Christ-like.

This strange, Sabbath-like pause may be worth spending privately with the Lord, asking: Is there something You want to teach me? Maybe God wants to teach us to slow down in a culture that feels the constant need to be busy. Maybe He wants us to disconnect from technology, social media, or the news—I've long encouraged people to take a Sabbath or fast from the news, and that is especially true now when we're constantly bombarded by text messages, voicemails, and government conference calls. Maybe He wants us to trust in Him more than in our job, bank account, government, or investments. Ask the Lord, too, if there's something He wants you to do—more time in His Word and prayer, or reaching out to friends to see how they're doing.

John 9: The Works of God Revealed

Let me take us to several passages that help frame what is going on. The first is the Gospel of John. We're not a traditional liturgical church, but for many churches this is the season of Lent, and this week's reading is John 9.

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him." — John 9:1-3

Some people are saying this virus is the judgment of God because of our sin. Now, humanity has been sinful since Genesis 3, and we live in a broken, fallen world where there is death, sickness, and disease. But this is not because there is new sin that wasn't present ten or a hundred years ago—it's the manifestation of a broken world. I don't think it's right to say this is the judgment of God. The disciples assumed bad things happen because of personal sin, and Jesus corrected them: this is an opportunity for God to reveal His works.

So I wonder, in the midst of this, what does God want to do? I'm convinced He wants to do great things. Many people in our culture are far from God and need the forgiveness, grace, peace, joy, and salvation found only in Jesus Christ. This event is causing people to think about their place with God more than they did a month or a year ago. When the things people trust in—jobs, bank accounts, governments—are shaken, they're put in a place of looking for something with real strength and foundation. This is an opportunity to reach out to family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors who are fearful and anxious, and to share the Lord with them. God wants to do a work in us and a work through us during this time.

Isaiah 26: Kept in Perfect Peace

The second passage is Isaiah 26, which comes right after the prophet has predicted a global catastrophe in chapters 24 and 25. We are living in something global and somewhat catastrophic in many ways. In the midst of all that, Isaiah recognizes a truth I keep returning to:

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength. — Isaiah 26:3-4

When people go through tumultuous situations, they try to find something substantial, a footing to hold onto. There is no better rock than Jesus Christ. The phrase "perfect peace" in the original Hebrew is shalom, shalom—the Hebrews emphasized something by repeating it. God will keep you in shalom, shalom as your mind is stayed on Him and as you trust in Him. I encourage you to commit Isaiah 26:3-4 to memory and spend time thinking about it.

Philippians 4: Four Points on Peace

The final passage I want to spend time in is Philippians 4:4-9. I keep coming back to it over the last few weeks, and it has come up repeatedly in conversations.

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true... meditate on these things... and the God of peace will be with you. — Philippians 4:4-9

I've shared this passage with hundreds of people over the years when sitting with them in their trials. There are four points here I want us to consider.

First: This Passage Prescribes Our Rejoicing in All Circumstances

When Paul says, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice," this is the second time in the letter he gives this theme. Just one chapter earlier, in Philippians 3:1, he writes, "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe." The words "rejoice" here are a command. This is not optional, and because it is a command, it is possible even in difficult circumstances.

Paul was not in a joy-inducing situation when he wrote this. This is one of his prison epistles, written from Rome while he awaited a trial that would end not in release but in execution. Yet he commands Christians who were also suffering in Philippi to rejoice. He could do so because he had learned an important lesson, found in this very chapter:

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content... I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound... I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. — Philippians 4:11-13

One translation reads, "I have learned the secret of being content in every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." We can rejoice in difficult circumstances, but our rejoicing is not found in the circumstances. We're not rejoicing in coronavirus or in people losing their jobs—we rejoice in the Lord. That is why it's important to spend time with Him in prayer, in His Word, and in worship, where our joy is kindled.

Second: This Passage Exhorts Our Steadiness Be Evident to All

In verse 5, "Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand," that word "gentleness" is a challenging one for translators. Across different Bible versions you'll find "reasonableness," "graciousness," "gentleness"—a sign that the translators wrestled with it. In my study, I think one of the better ways to render it is, "Have a reputation of steadiness."

So a simple question: Do you have a reputation of steadiness in the midst of trials, or do outside circumstances take you up and down and toss you all around? One danger is that we become people tossed around very easily by what happens in the world. Paul says he wants us to have a reputation for steadiness. My prayer for our church is that God would grant us to be steady in the storm, with a strong keel in the water as we go through the challenges.

Third: This Passage Commands Our Peace by Persistent Prayer

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:6-7

"Be anxious for nothing" is a simple command but hard to fulfill, and every one of us breaks it regularly. But I'm convinced God enables us to fulfill what He commands—He doesn't give us impossible commands. The way to fulfill it is to do what He prescribes here.

Anxiety happens in the mind and heart. Paul says we can live at peace by following these steps. Prayer, supplication, thanksgiving, and making your requests known are all just different forms of prayer. It's as if Paul says, "Don't worry about anything—instead, pray, pray, pray, pray," and as you do, the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds.

This might sound simplistic, like a quick platitude. But the Scriptures teach it. These forms of prayer are ways we set our minds upon the Lord. Isaiah 26:3: "He will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him." It fulfills Colossians 3, "set your mind on things above." Thanksgiving is recalling all God has done in the past; supplication is praying for His provision in the future. As we bring all this to the Lord, His peace guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus—the very place where we deal with worry and anxiety.

Fourth: This Passage Orders Our Attention Be Fixed on What Promotes Peace

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. — Philippians 4:8

For years, Christians got weirded out by the word "meditate," instantly thinking of Eastern practices. Interestingly, in the last five or ten years our culture has embraced meditation, silence retreats, and mindfulness apps. Some of that could be good if we meditate the way the Bible prescribes. People often think meditation means emptying the mind. But biblical meditation is thinking deeply and focusing your attention on something.

If you know how to worry, you know how to meditate—because worry is a form of meditation. Over the last ten days, you've likely spent a great deal of time meditating on the coronavirus: how it will affect your family, your business, your 401k, the culture, even toilet paper sales. You've thought about it from every vantage point, so much that it absorbs your whole attention. And meditation on coronavirus will be distressing; it will destabilize your heart and mind, rob your sleep, and make you impatient with others.

God wants to reorder our focus so we experience more of His peace. The way is to start thinking about what is lovely, true, noble, good, praiseworthy, and of good report. All of these describe the nature of God. I guarantee, based on Scripture, that if you fix your attention on these things, you will experience the peace of God.

And notice verse 9: "The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you." The Philippians had seen Paul pray and meditate upon the Scriptures. So we move from the peace of God that guards our hearts and minds to the God of peace. The more you know the peace of God by spending time with Him in meditation, the more you draw near to the God of peace, and He draws near to you.

An Evangelistic Opportunity

I hope one outcome of the chaos of 2020 will be you and I drawing closer to the God of peace and experiencing His peace in greater measure. That's good for you and your family—but it also gives you opportunity to share the peace of God and the God of peace with others. Many people we know don't know God and have little ultimate hope or peace in the midst of storms. When their world comes apart, their whole psyche destabilizes, and they look for joy, peace, and hope. As Christians, we have all of those in Christ Jesus.

So we have a huge evangelistic opportunity, church, to share the peace of God and the God of peace with a culture that desperately needs Him. The coronavirus is reminding people how shallow and unstable things are in this life, and they begin to look for something with real substance and foundation—found only in God and His kingdom. So spend time not meditating on the news or the endless stream on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, but meditating on the God of peace, that the peace of God which surpasses all understanding would guard your heart during this time.

Closing Prayer

Father, I pray for us, Your people, the church of God. I ask that You would do a work in us where we would hunger and thirst for spending time with You in Your Word, in prayer, and in worship. Even if we can't do that with the larger body of Christ, we can do it with our families. I pray that during this time You would draw us close to You, and that this drawing near would pay dividends in a huge way—that we would experience exactly what the Scriptures say, Your peace that surpasses understanding. So God, would You guard the hearts and minds of Your church as we walk through these challenging situations? And would You use Your church to be a light, like a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden, to those walking through these challenges without hope and without peace from You? Do a work in Your church, we pray, in Jesus' name. And now may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God and of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.