Yes! There is Good News! 8.12.17

“I will say it again: Rejoice!” In the last article we were considering the Apostle Paul’s remedy for finding ourselves living in sorrow and grief. In Philippians 4:4-7 we find him telling us twice to rejoice. But he tells us to rejoice “in the Lord” and he tells us to put on the attitude of gentleness. This is interesting advice so far but he then goes on to tell us that the Lord we are calling on for joy is near.

In the book of 2 Chronicles 15:2 the prophet Azariah gives Asa, king of Judah a most precious message. He says, “The LORD is with you when you are with Him.  If you seek Him, He will be found by you …” This is a great promise that is echoed throughout the bible. Moses understood that God would never leave him, not forsake him, and the same thing was echoed in the book of Hebrews 13:5. When we call out to God and truly draw near to Him, He will be there with us. Earlier in the book of Hebrews in 4:16 we read, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find help in our time of need.” Yes, Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord for He is near.

In this quote from Paul’s letter we are next told not to be anxious about anything! And isn’t this why we sometimes find ourselves in sorrow and grief – because we are anxious about the future? We have had a loss and what will the future hold? So, what is Paul’s remedy for this anxiousness? “But in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Did you notice there is a threefold expression of how we are to approach God? Let’s look at the first two: Prayer and petition. Sometimes we think that when we might need something from God, we go to Him in prayer. But prayer is not a request. It is actually defined in Greek as a word of sacred character. It is devotion before our God. The word “petition” is better defined as, “requesting a particular need or benefit”. Paul uses both words as we: 1) Pray, i.e. Approach God with the worship, honor and praise due to the Supreme and Almighty Creator of the universe. And 2) Petition, i.e. We present our request to be separated from our anxieties, and the turmoils we face and so enter into the rest that our Savior promised us in Matthew 11:28.

What about that third expression in the above quote? What about “thanksgiving?” There is a line in a song that may help us here: “I thank God for the storms He’s brought me through. For if I never had a problem, I wouldn’t know that He could solve them, I’d never know what faith in God could do.”

Sometimes we wonder why God brings trials upon us. They hurt. We feel alone. They cause us anxiety. There was a time in my life, some 38 years ago when I found myself all alone. I won’t go into details, but suffice it to say, I’d never experienced anything like it before. At that time I realized there was only one place to turn. I turned to God, in praise, with petition, and with thanksgiving. And as I look back on that day, I realize it was one of the happiest experiences of my life. I found out just how close God was to me.

Yes, there is still more good news to come – God willing!