A Bitter Cup Becomes Sweet
Philippians 4:6-7
6 Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
The great Apostle Paul begins this section by saying “Rejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say, Rejoice.” These are the words he speaks to those in the Church while he himself was imprisoned. “Joy” and “Rejoice” are words used eighteen times in this letter to the Church in Philippi to encourage those in the midst of sadness for his imprisonment and their own untoward circumstances. Instead of telling them to ask God for his deliverance, he tells them to REJOICE in their trials and the news of his prison sentence.
Beloved, times come when circumstance be they illnesses or situational or relationships or finances that can bring us to the point of worry which often leads us to a state of anxiety. However, it is not the issue at hand that causes the anxiety, but us! Too often when we are hurt or scared or traumatized we dwell on the circumstance rather than how to heal the situation, in doing so we exacerbate the pain and anxiety, and this can literally go on for years giving way to physical illnesses and spiritual sloth. Is there a way out? Does God see my stress and anxiety and offer me a medicine to remedy the situation? Indeed He does!
“Be ANXIOUS for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your requests known to God.” Simple huh? Well, not really, that part about Thanksgiving is tough. How often are you in undesirable circumstances and riddled with anxiety and you say “THANK YOU Lord!”—not often I bet. Yet, the Lord asks us to not only pray but thank Him for the problem. Beloved, God knows all things and allows all things not to crush or destroy us but to manifest His great love towards us through the hardship. Jesus Christ purifies us and sanctifies us in His truth, He wants us to trust Him as a little child and say “Even though I don’t understand this situation Lord, I know you are in control.”
When we pray and learn to say “Thank You, Lord, may this situation be blessed,” He begins to bring beauty out of our ashes, He bring peace into our hearts and minds. The Peace of Christ transcends human understanding, it is a peace the world knows nothing of! But you, being the child of God and He being the Lover of mankind, will experience His peace in the midst of the storms in your life.
So I ask you, Are you praying in your anxiety and stress or are you just ruminating about it? When you live without God, without peace, without trust, but with worry, anxiety, depression, and pain you will acquire both physical and spiritual sicknesses, but if you pray and say thank you Lord for this circumstance in my life, may it be blessed, your bitter cup will become sweet and you will know Jesus Christ not as the judge but the lover of mankind. May we all see Him in everything that happens to us and thank Him for His faithfulness and love. GOD LOVE YOU!
Fr Lazarus