God has taught me so much in the last 7 months.
The most recent lesson – rejoice always and do not worry. I’ve read Philippians 4 so many times and verses 4 through 7 are ones I remind myself of frequently. While in Vietnam our team listened to a sermon by Francis Chan that changed the way that I look at this passage and the way I live it out.
Here’s what it says:
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.
The trap I had fallen into was taking this passage as just a good suggestion. Yes, I know that I should rejoice in the Lord and I know that I should give my every worry over to him.
Here’s the problem with that… this part of scripture is not suggesting that we rejoice and not be anxious; it is commanding it. It is such an important command that Paul repeats it twice: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice.” And it isn’t Paul who is commanding this, it is God.
So, if this is a command, choosing to not rejoice or to be anxious or worry is sin. It is a sin just like lying, just like having idols in our life, and just like murder. It is sin.
“We don’t confront people for not rejoicing. It is a sin like anything else.”
The day that we listened to that sermon, I needed to be confronted. I needed God to remind me that any other choice but joy is disobedience. I needed to be reminded that disobedience in any form is sin.
“When is the last time that you remembered that your name is written in the book of life? When is the last time you rejoiced because of that?”
God used Francis Chan to say, “WAKE UP LESLEY! Your eternity is with me, that trumps anything else that could ever happen in your lifetime!”
“You rejoice because you know Jesus is coming back at any moment.”
This is the part of the sermon where I wanted to get up and run around the room because I was getting so pumped about eternity with Jesus! But then came, “do not be anxious.”
Ouch.
“What does it mean when you present your requests to God and then you get up, walk away, and worry about them?”
“You don’t really trust Him!”
Hi, my name is Lesley, and I worry. I worry about my family. I worry about what I’m going to do with my life when I go home. I worry about whatever scan or treatment my dad is having next.
“He spoke the world into existence, he can handle your problem!”
Ok, Francis, I hear you.
“And if you are stressed, who would want your God or your life?”
Conviction.
When God convicts me of my sin, my heart feels like it is in my stomach. And this time wasn’t any different. But right after that feeling comes the freedom that grace provides. Freedom to walk away and be different. Freedom to step into the truth. Freedom to live like you believe God really is who He says He is.
And that is what I am doing. I am choosing freedom. I am choosing to be free from my circumstances so that I can simply rejoice in my savior. I am choosing to be free from worry so that I can continue to follow the Lord without fear.
Everyday it is a choice.
Thank you Francis Chan for listening to the Lord and preaching a sermon that I would listen to one day in Vietnam and that would change my life. Thank you for never abandoning the truth even when it isn’t pretty.
If you are interested in watching this sermon, you can find it here.
