Our Sunday School lesson yesterday was from Philippians, chapter 4. It was such a great message and our teacher brought out several points that really stuck with me. Verses 4-7 identified specific actions a church should take to build unity. The first and foremost was rejoice in the Lord. Paul told us "Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS and again I say rejoice." It is a short verse but he takes the time to tell us TWICE in one short verse to rejoice.
Our teacher pointed out that Christians should be the happiest people in the world. We have a mentor; a plan of salvation, a greater power to help us in our time of need. But she also stated that many Christians go around with long faces, full of gloom and doom. We have more reason than anyone to have joy, yet we fail to realize it.
Paul also tells us to "be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. In other words, he urges us not to fall apart at the seams and worry ourselves to death. We can be concerned. God wants us to have an awareness of the trials we face, but He doesn't want us to let it cause us such grief that we walk around like a bunch of Oscar the grouches all the time.
In verse 11, he sums it up like this:
"Not that I speak in respect of want; for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."
