By Pr Michael Kintu
Philippians 4:4-7 says: “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again, I say, rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
“Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
“And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
We are already in the middle of the year and days seem to be running faster than we would want them to.
As such, there seems to be little time left to accomplish our goals for the year. It is, therefore, important that we find encouragement in the Word of God.
Leaning on God
The writer of Proverbs encourages us to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and acknowledge Him (Prov 3:5-6).
We are counselled not to lean on our own understanding, but to acknowledge the Lord who is in control. He is leading us to the best future He has prepared for us.
He alone knows the plans He has for us- plans for good and not evil, to give us hope and a wonderful future (Jeremiah 29:11).
Therefore, we are not alone. We need to acknowledge that God is sovereign and sees all things, especially those we do not see.
We need to acknowledge the fact that He is able to make all things work together for our good, even when we do not see a way out.
This will cause us to cast off all anxiety, to return to prayer and supplication with thanksgiving (Colossians 4:6) and to an attitude of faith that confesses that all is going to be well in Jesus’ name.
Do not worry
The Bible encourages us to cast all our cares upon the Lord because He cares about us (1 Peter 5:7).
Jesus said something worth noting when it comes to our cares: “Therefore, I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
“Therefore, take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” (Matthew 6:25-32).
Our heavenly father knows that we need these things. Having faith is acknowledging that God is already aware of what we are in need of. It further acknowledges Him as our source and that seals the deal.
Do not fear
The other thing we need to cast off is fear. Fear is not of God and, therefore, not of faith. The Bible tells us that: “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
Fear cripples our faith, robs us of the power to pursue our dreams and discourages everyone around us. We must rebuke the spirit of fear and cast it out.
The phrase “fear not!” is repeated 365 times in the Bible so that there will be a ‘fear not’ phrase for each day of the year.
The antidote to fear is faith in God. We must go back again and again to His promises, and re-echo them back to Him in faith. God is faithful to His Word.
Our faith and trust in God will be tested once and again. Nevertheless, genuine faith in God will stand. As long as we are standing on the Word of God, we have nothing to fear.
The Word of God is a sure foundation against the storms of life. Nothing is outside His authority.
Rejoice
“Rejoice,” says Philippians 4:4, “and again I say rejoice.” We are encouraged to have such an attitude in the middle of all the chaos around us.
We need to let our heavenly Father know of everything we need and let us trust that He has taken care of it all.
He concludes by saying: “And the peace of God that passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.”
May the Lord help us to maintain this attitude as we head for the second half of the year.
May He grant us grace to draw in every promise He has in store for us and may we be bold enough to stand and tell the whole world what God has done for us in Jesus’ name!
The writer is the lead pastor at House of Revival Ministries, Kisaasi.
