Listen

Be glad in the Lord always! Again I say, be glad! Let your gentleness show in your treatment of all people. The Lord is near. Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4-7

Think

There are days when the last thing I want to do is be glad. The apostle Paul who wrote this letter knew a thing or two about bad days; he was shipwrecked, bitten by a snake, arrested and imprisoned (a few times), had stones thrown at him, and fled for his life after preaching. Yes, Paul had his share of bad days, too. Yet, he writes and believes in rejoicing in the Lord always.

Why? Because Paul knows the peace of God. It’s not a peace that makes all things good, but a peace that helps Paul remember that the Lord has always, is always, and will always be near to him. It’s a peace that allows Paul to always turn to God with everything that he is going through, on the good days and especially the bad days.

And that peace is not just for Paul, but for all of us, because we all belong to God, on the good days and especially the bad days. That’s what allows us to be glad in the Lord always.

Kris “Bubba” Brammer

Question to Ponder:

What do you or who do you talk to when you’re having one of those bad days, when the last thing you feel like doing is being glad or rejoicing?

Pray

God of the good days and the bad, I give thanks that you are always near, that I can come to you and share all that I am going through.

Help me to recognize just how near you are, especially on those days when I think I am all alone.

I rejoice in you.

Amen.

Go

May the peace of God surround you.

May the peace of Christ uphold you.

May the peace of the Holy Spirit sustain you.