Philippians 4:4-13

Context: Paul, an imprisoned messenger of Jesus, is giving hope to the church of Philippi who are facing persecution of their own. He ends his letter with hopeful instructions.





Phil 4:4-13
How to Keep Your Sanity in Dark Times!

1. Celebrate God! I don't care what the occasion, just put God in a good light.  God is coming to make His debut in our lives and we need to show the people we love and support one another.

2. Don't let any problem in this life keep you up at night. I forbid any pacing, hand wringing or unnecessary insomnia over the hurdles of life. It is a God problem and all God problems deserve to be voiced toward God. Not only just to have God hear you cry out, but to also be thankful that he is capable of handling it. This is the lifestyle where God's beautiful peace and confidence overpowers your endless badgering of the situation and your brain  gets refuge behind the wall of Christ. It is a reality.

3. How are you going to spend your day, siblings of the Lord? How about you start dwelling on honesty, absolute truth, professionalism and courtesy in relationships, every day acts of heroism, habits of restraint and clean thinking, respect toward creation, awe of God's splendor, integrity in the work place, attitudes of victory and acts of selflessness that bring out the good in God's people. These thoughts should be the consumption of your day.

4. These nuggets of wisdom that I am speaking should be put into practice. Don't just read this and walk away. Do this and God's clarity and alacrity will be with you.

Finally guys, I am touched that you were deeply concerned about my well being. You wanted so bad to help me in my imprisoned state. But...I don't really have any dire needs right now. I know...right, I am in prison and I seem to taking it quite alright. Even if my life isn't all peaches and gravy I am still keeping a cool head. There's a secret to being okay with this unstable life. You see, I have been on both ends of the spectrum: feast and famine. I have swam through riches, fame and plenty, but I have also been poorer than a peasant. There's one tip that has made this liveable, one reminder that keeps me from going crazy.  Are you ready? The secret: Christ keeps me stable and strong. I can get through this because of Jesus. Amen.