“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let everyone experience your gentleness. 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. 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” (Philippians 4:4-9).
This is the word of God. It is the word of faith. It begins with words that seem absurd at first glance, yet they contain a good wish.
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)
It seems utterly impossible to be happy all the time. Being a person who doesn't succumb to circumstances is only possible if you are focused and demanding. But I don't see this as an absurd or commonplace desire. Rather, it's something we should strive for.
This is a very powerful word. It means that the Holy Spirit works where there is joy in God, and that the work of the Holy Spirit is incompatible with bitterness. Whether we want to understand it or not, bitterness is a sign of resentment, unforgiveness, and disturbed peace.
The natural person cannot understand this, and yet they can be a believer. They say they are free, but they allow anger, resentment, and irritability to fester. At a Moscow university, the question was once discussed as to why films shouldn't include erotic scenes that merely serve to make the film more appealing. One of those present indignantly replied that he was free to watch such scenes because they left him cold inside. To this, my friend and brother in Christ responded that if he knew what 75-year-old women confessed during the penitential rite, he would never say such a thing.
The consequences of watching impure film scenes can haunt a person for years. My experience in pastoral care confirms this. A person may seem free while watching these scenes, yet they cannot forget what they have seen for many years. This can be explained by the profound emotional experience they undergo during this time. The spiritual person differs greatly from the natural person. Their foundation for life is not their experiences, but the Word of God.
I'd like to give an example that clearly illustrates the difference between spiritual and natural people. When I emigrated to Germany, I was shown a vision: It depicted a church on a rock. Above it was a pole, like on a streetcar. It was fitted with hooks, which people were trying to hold onto. Suddenly, a hand reached for the pole and lifted it. The people continued to cling to the hooks, some even with their teeth. Those who couldn't hold on fell. The entire structure was lifted by the hand of God. Those who could no longer hold on suddenly found themselves in God's second hand. But there were also some who didn't hold onto the hooks and didn't fall into God's hand.
The vision clarifies the real life of the church from God's perspective. The church itself may be beautifully built and function well, but it can still be lifeless. A vibrant church may lack order, but it possesses love, joy, peace, and righteousness in the Holy Spirit . In this Spirit, it serves Christ. The life of a vibrant church is the triumph of the evangelizing Spirit of Jesus Christ.
This doesn't mean I'm telling everyone to go their own way. It's about the fact that the words of the Apostle Paul, " Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4), are not just a nice wish that God has saved us and that we could perhaps add a little extra joy to that. It's something else entirely. To remain in this joy always, we must be devoted to Jesus always. A person's spiritual life is determined by how they understand the Word of God. It's a call to open one's heart to Christ, for it is a great gain to be devout and content (cf. 1 Timothy 6:6), which is closely connected to the following words: "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4) . This joy is intrinsically linked to the fact that Jesus has redeemed us. Let's understand it this way: If He has redeemed and saved us, then we must work for Him.
Why does this joy disappear? Because in our lives we encounter another source that doesn't bring us true joy. Then true joy vanishes. It's no coincidence that David prayed when he sinned: "Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing with a spirit" (Psalm 51:14).
“Let everyone experience your gentleness! The Lord is near!” (Philippians 4:5)
These aren't just words meant to burden us. This is life. I was once talking to a man about his problems. I told him he needed to humble himself. He replied that he'd been doing that for five years, waiting for his problem to be solved, at which point I felt compelled to say that humility hadn't been nourishment for him, but a purely outward act. He hadn't humbled himself a single day, but had only maintained the appearance of humility. Why did I give him such an answer? Because doing God's will should be our (spiritual) nourishment, for none of us waits for God to stop feeding us with His food.
It is difficult for a person of the flesh to demonstrate meekness that is visible to all. But if one manages to become a meek person, one finds nourishment, joy, and happiness in it. Looking at a person who is not meek, one realizes that they are utterly lost in this life. They are out of control. They go through life angry and shouting, believing themselves to be righteous. Yet they are a profoundly unhappy person. Don't we all sometimes fail to "fall" into God's hands, fail to trust Him, and let our own goals, which seem good to us but which we cannot achieve, outweigh God's Word?
“Do not be anxious about anything” (Philippians 4:6)
How can we be free from worry? Should we sit around all day, doing nothing and neglecting work, family, and the community? No! It is not written that we need do nothing, but rather, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6).
If we want order in our lives, in the community, and in our families to be achieved not merely through physical effort, we must entrust all of this to God. We must trust in what the Lord does. If we don't do this and think we can solve the problem ourselves, we trample on God's love and become an obstacle to the freedom of others. Let's consider some of Jesus' most dramatic acts. When He entered the temple with the whip, for example, a certain freedom can be seen in it. He was capable of punishing, of being strict, or of overturning pews. But He didn't coerce; instead, He left it up to others to choose whether they wanted to follow Him or remain in sin.
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)
I could claim to be humble at heart, and yet it wouldn't be true. If all that I have just mentioned is found in my heart, then the peace of God will guard it. There was a time in my life when, whenever I came to church, the Holy Spirit would tell me through the prophet that I was disturbing the peace. For a long time, I couldn't understand this, because everything was fine and I wasn't angry with anyone. What was I doing to disturb the peace? There was something missing in my heart. I was doing something wrong. I didn't feel peace because it was disturbed. One must be able to receive the peace that Jesus gives, the peace that the world cannot give, and receive it as it is written: joyfully, meekly, offering everything to God through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, and entrusting all anxieties to Him. And the peace of God will be guarded in Jesus Christ.
“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 or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8).
Note that this describes what is going on inside us. “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” (Philippians 4:8). We often think we are doing the right thing, but we don't consider that we might be acting cruelly toward someone else in the process. In our “righteousness,” we don't consider the other person's reaction. We should pay attention not only to what we do, but also to how we do it and what motivates us.
“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” (Philippians 4:8). This is what should grow in our relationships. Am I building such relationships?
First, I must try to understand whether my own life is built in this spirit, and whether I strive to always keep this in mind. Do I strive to always stand as a person built up and learning by God? Then this will also be reflected in my relationships with other people, and then the God of peace will be with us.
It's not a question of the yoke or our obligations. It's about opening a wellspring to God and having divine, rather than human, resources within us. If a father, mother, or child leaves home without informing anyone, are they doing something wrong? No! But the real question here is one they haven't considered: is such independence right?
When I'm in a difficult situation and start applying all of God's wrath to myself, I don't even know what to call it. I'd like to call it "spiritual masochism." Do you understand what I'm talking about? Let me explain. Someone comes along and says they've died. So what? What are they trying to say? Does it make them happy? Are they enjoying it? How are we supposed to understand that statement? Is it that Christ has led you into a state of corruption and wants to be glorified by it? Or is he saying that he's on a pleasurable path that leads to ruin? I understand that we often find ourselves in various states and situations. But we mustn't close our hearts to God. We mustn't toy with them.
When God shows you that you are truly lost, you will hear a different voice. It will be a cry. This is not to be taken lightly. It is not pure, not praiseworthy, not virtuous, not humble. It is pride before God. Say, “Lord! It is so difficult, so arduous! I cannot go on! But I trust that I will find help in You.” Say this when you fall, but do not say that you are lost. Do not hurt yourself to take pleasure in this pain, for that is spiritual masochism.
Let's summarize what we've just learned. We don't live according to what we feel, although I'm not against feelings. I've heard someone say that we preach a cold, unfeeling faith. That's not true, because we find many feelings in faith. And when we experience these feelings and experiences, we can rejoice in them. But that's not the crux of the matter. One of the books on revival says, "Before you tell us what God is doing in your lives, show us what the Holy Spirit has been doing in your hearts." That's the most important thing.
It doesn't always have to be the case that we are constantly good-natured and that everything goes perfectly for us. But when Jesus has entered our hearts, we never leave Him. In Him lies our comfort and our hope when we have fallen. In Him lies the power for restoration and our greatest joy.
My greatest joy on my birthday is to speak not about myself, but about Christ. It's only natural to want to offer the birthday person many good wishes on their special day. But at that moment, I want to step aside and make room for Jesus, because in my joy I want to sit at His feet, simply sit there. I want to put aside all the hymns of praise we usually offer one another and give glory to the One who brings salvation.
A man once told me about a church service he found extremely difficult. A young woman or girl attended the same service for the first time. When they came out, the girl said how beautiful the service had been. And this man suddenly saw a certain spirituality in her. He began to reflect on why there was such a discrepancy between their perceptions. He realized that he had stopped listening attentively to the Word of God. When a person stops listening to God's Word as the Word of God, they develop very different interests. They begin to be interested in the aesthetic perception of the Word—whether it is deep enough, beautiful enough, varied enough. And very soon, they deprive themselves of the nourishment that the Word provides.
Much of what people seek as a blessing is already present in their lives, to a far greater extent than they realize. It is not the absence of hardship, struggle, and trial. It is the capacity to be godly and content (cf. 1 Tim 6:6), to be comforted by the Lord, and to seek in our minds “what is true, what is noble, what is right, what is pure, what is lovely, what is admirable—whatever is excellent or praiseworthy” (Phil 4:8). This is what God teaches us.
Joy isn't simply something you can find. Our destiny lies in joy. And do you know why? Remember what Joshua said to the people of Israel as he took his leave: “You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God, a jealous God who will not tolerate your transgressions and sins” (Joshua 24:19). Yet Jesus has forgiven us our transgressions and sins, and our destiny is the joy of forgiveness. So how can I allow this joy to be overshadowed by sadness about things not working out in my life?
My husband doesn't understand me, my wife doesn't understand me, my parents don't understand me. Is it worth destroying the life and joy of the salvation God has given me? Is my hard but temporary struggle to stop thinking about what is pure and lovable worth it? And this isn't just wishful thinking. What I mean is that we sin when we don't have this joy. We sin when we criticize someone, when we speak ill of them behind their back. That is a spiritual defeat. There is only one opportunity for a Christian to get into a conflict and argue—when the truth of the gospel is at stake. That is the time when we must not give in.
In all other cases, we can rejoice because He grants sleep to His beloved . I am not asking you to sleep twelve hours straight. I think you understand that. But it is in vain that you rise early and go to bed late if you do not give more space in your hearts to the spirit of grace and reconciliation. We should stop being people who have a bishop's plan for the structure of the Church in our heads. Let us learn to trust what the Lord tells us.
Richard Zimmermann
Municipality of Bremen
Quotes:
(1) The Holy Spirit works where there is joy in God, and the work of the Holy Spirit is incompatible with bitterness .
(2) To remain in this joy, it is necessary to be ever faithful to Christ. A person's spiritual peace is determined by how they perceive the Word of God .
(3) Joy is not just something to be found, but our lot in joy: Jesus has forgiven us our guilt and sin, and our lot is the joy of this forgiveness .