Despite Paul writing this letter from the prison cell, it is full of joy. It would be beneficial to scan again through the whole letter and note or highlight all the times joy or rejoicing is mentioned. Today’s double exhortation to rejoice always and rejoice again, while not the final note of joy, is the pinnacle of this theme, and certainly a challenge for us.

Notice that this exhortation to ‘rejoice‘ comes hard on the heels of a difficult situation of conflict between Euodias and Syntyche (v.2). Whether in confinement, like Paul, or in conflict, we can easily become anxious in our spirit or abrasive in our character. However, as the children of God we ought not let outward circumstances of life dictate our response. We are to rejoice in every situation, again and again. How are we at this? It is certainly easier said than done.

Like we saw yesterday, our ability to rejoice is not found in ourselves, but ‘in the Lord‘. Clark Logan says that this joy “depends upon our appreciation of the permanent spiritual blessings” we find in Christ, and “in the measure that we are conscious of our Lord’s presence with us” [Christ our Life, pg 131]. It is in this that we find constancy and stability, and as we choose to rejoice in God’s glory and goodness, we are promised the ‘peace of God’.

This divine peace is to be known inwardly. It is the answer to an anxious spirit, and is found when we ‘let our requests be made known unto God’. Of course, God already knows all about our circumstance, but the important word here is ‘let’. It has often been said “let go, and let God”. The question is, are we willing to let God take control and rest in Him. When we do this with thankfulness, we will know God’s peace, and be able to react to the circumstances outwardly with gentleness (‘moderation’).