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Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. (Philippians 4:4-5)

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We are back to finish off the letter to the Philippians now that our Vibrant Weekend and Prayer Guide have finished up!\xa0

We find ourselves flipping a new page in the Philippian letter.\xa0\xa0Paul has taken the first few chapters to tell us of the mindset of Jesus (i.e. humbling himself to the cross and submitting himself to the Father alone and not to his own recourse), how he himself has sought to live out of this same mindset of Jesus, and how the Philippian church and those within it experiencing fights and division (like Euodia and Syntyche) should live out that Jesus-mindset too.

Having said all that, Paul returns to the theme of joy.\xa0 This is also where he began back in chapter one as he told of his praying in joy for the Philippian Christians, thankful for their partnership in the Gospel and for God\u2019s work in them that God himself would see to completion.\xa0

Even as Paul rejoiced in his prayers, now he invites the Philippians into the same.\xa0 Joy and prayers.\xa0 We\u2019ll come to the praying part tomorrow.\xa0 Today it\u2019s enough to talk about joy.\xa0

One of the most significant antidotes to the mistrust of our fellow Christians that breeds division like that between Euodia and Syntyche, is a healthy sense of the joy of the Lord.\xa0 If we remember the angel\u2019s announcement to the shepherds that we heard last week: the Gospel is good news of great joy for all people.\xa0 If we somehow recognize that our joy is gone or has been replaced by fear, doubts, or suspicions, it is an indicator that our own heart needs tending in the presence of God before we can engage fruitfully again with our fellow Christians.\xa0 We somehow need to receive again the good news of great joy in our own hearts so that what spills out of us in encounter with others might also be seen and heard as a joyful, Gospel word.\xa0

How do we do that?\xa0 Many ways.\xa0 One is simply by practicing.\xa0 If you don\u2019t feel joyful: try rejoicing and giving thanks to God anyway.\xa0 It very often is the case that working a habit like rejoicing for an extended period of time, even when we aren\u2019t emotionally in the mood for it, can serve to usher our emotions gently along until we do begin to feel it.\xa0 Another way to find joy in the Lord once again is to remember and to seek to trust that indeed \u201cthe Lord is near.\u201d\xa0 Even when everything else might feel like its coming undone or when it feels like there are enemies all around\u2014a recognition of the presence of God in that place can change things.\xa0 Even valleys of death\u2019s shadow can be transformed into an experience of God\u2019s care and provision when we remember that he is there, too.\xa0

Of course, a third way to renew our joy is simply by talking to God.\xa0 We\u2019ll touch on that more tomorrow.\xa0

This kind of joy in Christ makes it possible to make known the mind of Christ to those around us.\xa0 The word Paul uses to describe it here is \u201cgentleness.\u201d\xa0 Another word for that gentleness Paul tells us to make evident to all, is forbearance.\xa0 A willingness to let things go or to delay our reaction or desire for retribution.\xa0 Doing so offers a gracious, merciful forbearance as God has done for us.\xa0 Again, we can do this because the Lord who has displayed his gentle forbearance with us, is near.\xa0 It\u2019s a cause of joy.\xa0 A cause for taking on the same mindset.\xa0

So: rejoice in the Lord always.\xa0 I will say it again: Rejoice!

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