“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.
Philippians 4:4-9
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.”
This summer, my husband Seth and I almost bought a house.
It happened so fast. One day we were in the home, imagining what it would be like to make it our own. That same day, we made an offer. And just two days later, the seller accepted.
But before long, our plans fell apart. Results of our home inspection revealed that the roof of the home was severely damaged—tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage we couldn’t see in our first visit to the home. We ended up backing out, and decided to take a break from house-hunting.
It’s hard to rejoice when life doesn’t work out the way we hope. And so many things pop up in daily life that can make us feel anxious: stressful jobs or schoolwork or missed calls or hurting relationships or cancelled plans.
The mixture of unmet expectations and anxiety is not a recipe for joy.
But in Philippians 4, Paul reminds us we have a choice. We can choose to focus on disappointment and fear.
Or, we can choose to focus on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. We can set our minds on God, thanking Him for the good things in our lives.
When we choose thankfulness even in moments of disappointment and anxiety, God gives us His peace. He alone has the power to heal our hearts.
And so, I choose to thank God that we didn’t buy a house this summer—He has something different and better in store for us. I choose to thank God for patience as we seek His perfect timing.
Disappointment and fear are strong feelings. But God is so much stronger.
God, thank you for giving us the choice to ask for Your peace and joy, even when we are afraid or disappointed. Please help thankfulness become our automatic response, no matter what the world throws our way. We love you, Jesus. Amen.
Never forget… you are onederfully created.
Love,
Becca
