July 21, 2025 • 18 mins
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" These words, penned by the Apostle Paul from a Roman prison cell, stand as either the most audacious command in scripture or the most profound key to unlocking a life of genuine joy. What does it mean to rejoice when circumstances are anything but joyful?
Pastor Sonja Knutson tackles this apparent contradiction head-on in this compelling exploration of Philippians 4. Paul wasn't writing platitudes from a position of comfort—he was imprisoned for his faith, had been beaten, shipwrecked, and left for dead multiple times. Yet somehow, he maintained an attitude of contentment that transcended his dire circumstances. This message unpacks how Paul's radical perspective applies directly to our modern struggles with anxiety, disappointment, and loss.
Drawing from a powerful image of a man standing unfazed in a doorway while massive waves crash around him, Pastor Sonia illustrates what it means to remain anchored in faith when life's storms threaten to overwhelm us. Unlike the world's approach of applying band-aids to our pain through quick fixes and temporary relief, Paul challenges us to start with our faith and eternal perspective before working inward to address our feelings. "Your citizenship is in heaven," he reminds us, offering a cosmic viewpoint that places our current trials in proper perspective.
The message takes a deeply personal turn as Pastor Sonia vulnerably shares her own journey through multiple miscarriages and fetal loss, revealing how surrender to God's perspective brought peace when nothing else could. Even more powerfully, she shares testimonies from parents who lost children in recent Texas floods yet somehow maintained their faith and gratitude to God despite unimaginable grief. These examples aren't meant to minimize suffering but to demonstrate that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" isn't just a motivational quote—it's a lifeline when everything falls apart. Whether you're facing minor frustrations or devastating loss, this message offers a path to a peace that truly surpasses understanding.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
My name is Sonia Knutson.
I'm pastoral associate here atCentral, as Ryan and Ben
mentioned earlier.
If you have not had a chance tomeet our team, please take the
time to introduce yourself outin the lobby when you can.
I'm so excited to be here.
I love it when Richard reads.
I could actually hear Paulreading it from prison this
morning, couldn't you?
We are in our fifth week of ourseries called Joy.
Anyway, a journey through thebook of Philippians.
(00:22):
Anyway, a journey through thebook of Philippians, and we tend
to favor this book, as Imentioned in our first week,
because it's a short book.
I love it as my bathroom readsometimes, which sounds weird,
but it's an easy read.
It's also memorable and it'sapplicable to our lives.
Would you agree, after hearingRyan and Ben preach the last
couple weeks, yes, very much so.
So so far, we've learned somereally cool Greek words, such as
koinonia, which means sharing Ihappened to learn that when I
(00:45):
was in third grade at Bible camp.
Yay, sonia.
And pronesis, which is a way ofthinking that helps shape a
person, so it reminds us to belike Christ-like in our thinking
.
There was pepotheus, which waslast week's work from Ben, which
means confidence and trust andskubula.
Do you remember that word?
What's it mean?
Can confidence and trust andscubala?
(01:06):
Do you remember that word?
What's it mean?
Can't say it.
I love it.
It means waste or rubbish, orBen referred to it as kind of
bull scubala, if you know what Imean.
Yeah, last week after churchsome friends of mine and I went
out hiking to Hassan and we wereon this little, my little jaunt
and we don't like mosquitospray.
So about two miles in On theway there, we were talking about
this sermon, we're like, oh,let's talk about joy and how
(01:29):
does it impact our life.
And about mile two themosquitoes hit us and we're like
this is scuba.
So if you know what that means,after that you can take it and
apply it to your life.
Today and next week we'll bebringing this book to a close
with chapter four.
I'm going to start the firstpart of chapter four.
Ryan will close it off and thenhe's going to do a conclusion
and we're going to then moveinto our you Pick series, which
we really enjoy.
(01:49):
That around here.
It's questions that you haveasked and we're going to do our
best to answer those through theend of July and then the month
of August and the first part ofSeptember.
Let's begin this morning inprayer.
Father, we thank you for thisopportunity to live in joy and
yet often we forget to apply itto our life and to find joy even
in the hard circumstances.
And as we've been walking withPaul through this book of
(02:12):
Philippians, we pray thatsomething has planted a seed in
our heart and in our mindset inthis crazy world that we live in
that often doesn't remind us ofjoy.
This morning, I ask that mywords are a vessel into hearts
and in minds that are willing tohear it in a new way, and I ask
that you would be impactfulthrough our words.
Lord Jesus, we love you.
In your name we pray Amen.
So the name of my sermon todayis Joy.
(02:34):
Anyway, through the Ups andDowns, which is Paul's general
message throughout this letter,everyone wants joy in your life,
amen.
But we often confuse it withhappiness.
But either way, we desire thefeeling of joy.
So Paul's words today are someof the simplest scripture to
read in terms of desire, as heshares.
(02:54):
Rejoice in the Lord always.
But it's not necessarily theeasiest thing to accomplish in
life and often I wonder if wesee the scripture and think
rejoice in the Lord always.
Is it really possible?
Sure, in the ups it's easy torejoice in the Lord, right?
That's an easy thing tounderstand.
I can praise Jesus when thingsare going well, but are we
(03:15):
expected to be joyful in thedown moments or are we just to
be joyful all the time and livethis Disney kind of life no
offense to Ben and wearing thisperpetual smile on our face even
when our circumstances arefilled with pain and sorrow and
sadness and uncertainty?
And it's not enough that Paul,our writer, says it once, but he
actually emphasizes it twice,as we heard earlier from Richard
(03:37):
Rejoice in the Lord always.
I say again rejoice.
Now.
As a reader, if you don't knowor understand the scripture or
the context behind this or theman, paul and you may be living
in some crisis that is placing aroadblock between you and joy.
These words can sting a bit, doyou agree?
So what is Paul saying?
(03:57):
And who is this annoyingapostle that feels like the
optimistic, happy uncle whobleeds, puppies and balloons
everywhere he goes?
If you're new here, if you'vemaybe been up north to the cabin
for a couple weeks, we've beenscratching around this book of
Philippians and this idea of joyand who Paul is, and we know
that he doesn't have a reason tobe joyful, at least on the
earthly level of his life.
(04:19):
A quick summary would sharethat.
Paul, our author, wrote thisletter in prison to his
supporters of the Church ofPhilippi.
He is in a Roman prison forcasting out demons of a slave
girl and while in prison he issharing the gospel with other
prisoners and guards andpoliticians and whoever else
will hear him preach or singwhich, by the way, if you're in
(04:39):
Rome, if you're not preachingand praising the Rome emperor,
nero, you're basically cuttingoff your own head.
But he doesn't care.
He viewed his imprisonment asan opportunity to share the
gospel and to emphasize unityand living out of faith with joy
, even in your suffering, andsuffering was second nature to
him.
Ben shared 2 Corinthians lastweek and he painted a clear
(05:01):
picture of his journey ofsuffering when we read he was
beaten with rods, he was lashed,stoned, shipwrecked, left for
dead, cold, hungry, held up,thirsty and naked, and he was
constantly on the run.
Paul lived through some prettyintense trials and could have
easily lived a life of despairand sorrow, but he viewed his
(05:22):
trials in the light of God'sword and he submitted to God's
sovereignty over hisimprisonment, over his misery
and even over his impendingexecution.
He was living the gospel toproclaim Christ in every way,
because he understood to live inChrist is to gain and to die in
Christ is to gain.
In other words, winner, winner,chicken dinner.
(05:43):
So rejoice in the Lord.
Always, again, I say rejoice.
But this concept is not easy tounderstand, especially when
circumstances are dark and heavy.
So Paul shares in this letterways to achieve the joy we
desperately desire, which bringsus to our reading today.
That Richard read in chapterfour and his command.
That implies we cannot be heldhostage to our circumstances.
(06:05):
Now think for a moment of thecircumstances that you have
lived or you are currentlyliving that hold you hostage.
Is it a loss?
Is it a transaction that's gonewrong?
Maybe it's a breakup, adisagreement, a toxic
relationship or a health scare.
(06:26):
How does that feel?
Is it crippling, paralyzing,controlling, overwhelming?
Is it numbing to you?
What if, instead that, insteadof it making you feel lonely and
crippling, it was described asjoyful?
Can you imagine the freeingfeeling you would have?
(06:48):
I know it may feel impossibleand I'm sure at some point Paul
felt the same.
How could he not through all ofhis sufferings.
But Paul made a deliberatechoice to have an attitude of
contentment and hope thattranscended his circumstances
and in his command to rejoicealways.
We have that choice as well,because if we don't, we will be
(07:09):
left for ruins.
Look around this world, notjust at your circumstance, but
all around this world.
This world is a mess.
Things in our control andthings out of our control are
spiraling, and people say thatthe Bible isn't irrelevant.
Please, isn't it?
A book that speaks forthousands of years to the human
(07:30):
condition and lays a foundationof moral and spiritual guidance.
A book that paints values forindividuals and families and
communities.
A word that fights off evil.
Check out this video.
I love it.
(08:00):
The Bible is stable, no matterwhat was being thrown at it.
Right, and this is the wordthat poured over Paul while he
sat in prison and spoke of hisstrong faith.
He said Satan, you've gotnothing over me that God can't
defeat.
I am like a rock, and it's notbecause of anything in me, it's
because of who I know, andbecause of who I know I can
withstand the trials of thislife.
(08:22):
His faith and story reminds meof this picture, taken in 1989
off the coast of France.
Do you see the man in thedoorway standing supposedly
unfazed by the waves crashing in?
Paul was this man.
The waves of his struggles arecrashing in around him and he
stands firm in his faith.
And Paul is commanding us tolive in this image, in the
(08:44):
arrogance almost of joy andtrust in his faith, in a stoic
nature, when the world iscrashing in around us.
And he says do not be anxiousabout anything, it's not going
to be easy, but be in prayer.
And and he says do not beanxious about anything, it's not
going to be easy, but be inprayer and petition and
thanksgiving and bring yourtrials to God and let him meet
you there.
(09:04):
Paul is not saying don't feelthe feels, but let's start with
your faith.
First, start big in the cosmicpicture of your trial and move
small.
Then dealing with the struggles, which is opposite of what the
world tells us.
The world says instead, startsmall and move small than
dealing with the struggles,which is opposite of what the
world tells us.
The world says instead, startsmall and move outwardly.
The world tells us to putband-aids on things and
medication and read moreself-help books and use white
(09:25):
noise and do yoga and count andbreathe, and none of these
things are bad.
But Paul is commanding theopposite.
He says let's attack with thebig and work our way inward.
Start with your faith, see thecosmic picture and allow that to
speak into the circumstance andto give you perspective.
He argues remember yourcitizenship.
(09:45):
He says your citizenship is inheaven.
Who, by the power that in it?
Whoops, sorry, your citizenshipis in heaven and we eagerly
await a Savior from there, theLord Jesus Christ, who, by the
power that enables him to bringeverything under his control,
will transform our lowly bodiesso that they will be like this
glorious body which tells usthat our future transformation
(10:06):
and destination is thefoundation of which we stand
firm in the Lord.
So take a look at the cosmicpicture, the big picture, when
your trial hits, because, guesswhat?
Our lives come and go.
Ryan talks about it all thetime.
Our lives are vapor.
So don't be anxious, but ratherbe in prayer and petition and
thanksgiving.
(10:27):
Feel the feels.
For sure no one is saying don'tplace value in the feelings and
emotions that come with pain andsuffering, but don't let the
pain be your destination, whichis our natural human desire.
We naturally create tensionwhen our human desires and needs
are not met, and then we aremet with anxiety and stress,
(10:49):
sadness and depression.
But through understandingyourself and the nature of God
and depression, but throughunderstanding yourself and the
nature of God, we can find peacethat transcends and surpasses
the earthly struggles that weface.
And it is there where we willfind a calm in our hearts and in
our mindset that will guide usthrough even the darkest places
of our hurts and our pains.
I know I've shared our personalstory of loss of children
(11:11):
before, but it connects to thischapter so well that this verse
played repeat in my mind.
During a very difficult time inour lives, prior to our son
Philip's birth, jeff and Iexperienced miscarriage after
miscarriage, and then we had afetal loss at 17 weeks that we
birthed, and then we were forcedto have a DNC at the hospital
for a possible second baby or atwin.
And then we had a fetal loss at17 weeks that we birthed, and
(11:32):
then we were forced to have aDNC at the.
To say the least, it wasruining our picture of a perfect
family with a picket fencearound it.
I'll never forget coming homefrom the hospital devastated by
what had happened that was outof our control.
I retreated to our basement toargue and cry and shake my fist
at God, only to surprisinglyrepeat the words Sonia, do not
(11:55):
be anxious about anything andsurrender.
Do not be anxious aboutanything and surrender.
Do not be anxious aboutanything and I surrender to you,
god, for whatever reason in myyoung faith, god placed in my
mind and my heart do not beanxious, lean into me and
surrender.
And through lots of tears andprayers and the release of my
(12:15):
control, somehow we foundcontentment, not in the
circumstance, not at all, inwhat we had walked through, but
through my faith and myrelationship with Jesus.
How, honestly, I have no idea,other than I was tired of
desiring something so much, onlyto be hurt time and time again.
I had nothing else to turn toand I refused to live in the
(12:37):
pain and be defined by the loss.
It wasn't easy, but we foundprovision in circumstances
because of Jesus.
And, just like Paul, I foundwisdom and protection in our
father and we were content.
And in time we were blessedwith our son Philip and
eventually our second son,connor, who challenged us enough
to ask why, god, why do wecontinue to suffer?
(13:02):
Paul found this godlycontentment, not because it was
birthed to him.
He painfully and tediouslydeveloped it by walking with the
Lord.
So he learned to be contentwith anything, to live out of
pain and to be spirituallyunaffected by circumstances.
Verse 11 reads I'm not sayingthis because I am in need, for I
have learned to be contentwhatever the circumstance.
(13:24):
I know what it is to be in needand I know what it is to have
plenty.
I have learned the secret ofbeing content in everything,
every situation, whetherwell-fed or hungry, whether
living in plenty or in want.
Did Paul feel the feels?
Of course he did.
Look at that face Worry andstress and brokenness.
(13:44):
How could he not?
Trials naturally bring worry,as it did for many Bible
characters that leaned intotheir faith to teach us how to
trust our Father in all of themishaps of life.
Look at Jeremiah and Moses,joseph, ruth and Job.
Who doesn't feel for Job andall of his brokenness?
He lost everything, but he wascontent through his faith.
(14:07):
And then there was Elijah andthe bleeding woman that bled for
12 years.
Ladies, she bled for 12 yearsand she was content and she
trusted in her faith.
And then there was Peter ohPeter, who denied Jesus three
times.
And yet Jesus said you're myguy, I will build my rock, my
foundation, on you, and thegates of Hades will have no
power of you or anything thatyou lead.
(14:28):
And of course, for us, therewas Jesus, the one who models
contentment and peace thattranscends all human
understanding, as he diedbrutally on the cross for us.
And yet he shared his wordsremove my cup.
He asked his father to removehis pain and his suffering and
then he continued but your willbe done in my life Because of
(14:52):
his faith.
He found contentment and peacein his faith.
Friends, this journey ofcontentment in our pain will be
a struggle, but if we view ourtrials through the lens of
scripture and Jesus and we livethrough our faith and not our
feelings, those struggles willbe less hard and Paul's final
challenge in his letter can beattainable when he shares I can
(15:14):
do all things through Christ whostrengthens me.
I can do all things throughChrist who strengthens me, even
in the hardest trials, insuicide, in addictions, in
health scares, in brokenfamilies.
I can do all things in andthrough Christ who strengthens
me.
Things in our control andthings out of our control, such
(15:34):
as job loss, homelessness,social and economic struggles.
I can do all things throughChrist who strengthens me.
Natural disasters that burn ourland, that destroy our homes
and sweep our children away infloods I can do all things
through Christ, who strengthensme.
(15:54):
Knowing Christ in this cosmicending place, we know we can do
all things through Christ, evenin the worst situations.
I can't help but watch andlisten for the news from the
Texas floods that happened onJuly 4th, our country's day of
freedom, ironically.
A flood that killed over 135people and 100 people are still
(16:17):
missing, many of those childrenthat participated in a Christian
camp.
And you know what floods mybrain more than anything, more
than the tragic mess, more thanthe homes that are gone and the
cleanup that they're going to bedevastated by.
It's the contentment and faithof the parents who lost their
children, contentment and faithof the parents who lost their
(16:40):
children.
The Jacob family who lost theirdaughter, mary Kate, shared.
She was the light of our lives.
She was tiny but mighty, fullof love and joy, with a smile
that melted your heart.
We are utterly shattered andforever changed, but grateful to
God for her presence thatblessed our lives.
I can do all things in andthrough Christ, and the Lawrence
(17:02):
family shared, who lost theireight-year-old twin daughters,
hannah and Rebecca, brought somuch joy to us, to their big
sister, harper, and so manyothers.
We will find ways to keep thatjoy and continue to spread it
for them.
Can you imagine finding thattype of commitment, contentment,
peace in your faith, to expressthose words after such a tragic
(17:24):
loss?
I can only hope and pray that Iwill trust him well and that I
understand and face peace in theworst of the worst
circumstances in my life.
But as Christ followers, thisis what we are called and
commanded to do, no matter whatthe dire is.
Andrew Davis shares in his bookthe Power of Christian
Contentment.
Contentment in Christianperspective must never be
(17:47):
confused with mere stoicism,proud self-denial, determined
self-sufficiency orcondescending aloofness.
Rather, it is the project ofknowing Christ so well and
trusting him so fully that thevicissitudes of life, no matter
how dire, cannot hold a candleto the joy of steadfastly
trusting our Heavenly Father.
(18:08):
Central Lutheran Church today.
May your faith and relationshipwith our Father be so great and
so deep, so trustworthy, thatyour life and trials will be
filled with a contentment andpeace that allows you to praise
God always, to rejoice in theLord always and to share his
word with a world that isdesperate for a new narrative.
(18:28):
Amen.
My name is Sonia Knutson.
I'm pastoral associate here atCentral, as Ryan and Ben
mentioned earlier.
If you have not had a chance tomeet our team, please take the
time to introduce yourself outin the lobby when you can.
I'm so excited to be here.
I love it when Richard reads.
I could actually hear Paulreading it from prison this
morning, couldn't you?
We are in our fifth week of ourseries called Joy.
Anyway, a journey through thebook of Philippians.
(00:22):
Anyway, a journey through thebook of Philippians, and we tend
to favor this book, as Imentioned in our first week,
because it's a short book.
I love it as my bathroom readsometimes, which sounds weird,
but it's an easy read.
It's also memorable and it'sapplicable to our lives.
Would you agree, after hearingRyan and Ben preach the last
couple weeks, yes, very much so.
So so far, we've learned somereally cool Greek words, such as
koinonia, which means sharing Ihappened to learn that when I
(00:45):
was in third grade at Bible camp.
Yay, sonia.
And pronesis, which is a way ofthinking that helps shape a
person, so it reminds us to belike Christ-like in our thinking
.
There was pepotheus, which waslast week's work from Ben, which
means confidence and trust andskubula.
Do you remember that word?
What's it mean?
Can confidence and trust andscubala?
(01:06):
Do you remember that word?
What's it mean?
Can't say it.
I love it.
It means waste or rubbish, orBen referred to it as kind of
bull scubala, if you know what Imean.
Yeah, last week after churchsome friends of mine and I went
out hiking to Hassan and we wereon this little, my little jaunt
and we don't like mosquitospray.
So about two miles in On theway there, we were talking about
this sermon, we're like, oh,let's talk about joy and how
(01:29):
does it impact our life.
And about mile two themosquitoes hit us and we're like
this is scuba.
So if you know what that means,after that you can take it and
apply it to your life.
Today and next week we'll bebringing this book to a close
with chapter four.
I'm going to start the firstpart of chapter four.
Ryan will close it off and thenhe's going to do a conclusion
and we're going to then moveinto our you Pick series, which
we really enjoy.
(01:49):
That around here.
It's questions that you haveasked and we're going to do our
best to answer those through theend of July and then the month
of August and the first part ofSeptember.
Let's begin this morning inprayer.
Father, we thank you for thisopportunity to live in joy and
yet often we forget to apply itto our life and to find joy even
in the hard circumstances.
And as we've been walking withPaul through this book of
(02:12):
Philippians, we pray thatsomething has planted a seed in
our heart and in our mindset inthis crazy world that we live in
that often doesn't remind us ofjoy.
This morning, I ask that mywords are a vessel into hearts
and in minds that are willing tohear it in a new way, and I ask
that you would be impactfulthrough our words.
Lord Jesus, we love you.
In your name we pray Amen.
So the name of my sermon todayis Joy.
(02:34):
Anyway, through the Ups andDowns, which is Paul's general
message throughout this letter,everyone wants joy in your life,
amen.
But we often confuse it withhappiness.
But either way, we desire thefeeling of joy.
So Paul's words today are someof the simplest scripture to
read in terms of desire, as heshares.
(02:54):
Rejoice in the Lord always.
But it's not necessarily theeasiest thing to accomplish in
life and often I wonder if wesee the scripture and think
rejoice in the Lord always.
Is it really possible?
Sure, in the ups it's easy torejoice in the Lord, right?
That's an easy thing tounderstand.
I can praise Jesus when thingsare going well, but are we
(03:15):
expected to be joyful in thedown moments or are we just to
be joyful all the time and livethis Disney kind of life no
offense to Ben and wearing thisperpetual smile on our face even
when our circumstances arefilled with pain and sorrow and
sadness and uncertainty?
And it's not enough that Paul,our writer, says it once, but he
actually emphasizes it twice,as we heard earlier from Richard
(03:37):
Rejoice in the Lord always.
I say again rejoice.
Now.
As a reader, if you don't knowor understand the scripture or
the context behind this or theman, paul and you may be living
in some crisis that is placing aroadblock between you and joy.
These words can sting a bit, doyou agree?
So what is Paul saying?
(03:57):
And who is this annoyingapostle that feels like the
optimistic, happy uncle whobleeds, puppies and balloons
everywhere he goes?
If you're new here, if you'vemaybe been up north to the cabin
for a couple weeks, we've beenscratching around this book of
Philippians and this idea of joyand who Paul is, and we know
that he doesn't have a reason tobe joyful, at least on the
earthly level of his life.
(04:19):
A quick summary would sharethat.
Paul, our author, wrote thisletter in prison to his
supporters of the Church ofPhilippi.
He is in a Roman prison forcasting out demons of a slave
girl and while in prison he issharing the gospel with other
prisoners and guards andpoliticians and whoever else
will hear him preach or singwhich, by the way, if you're in
(04:39):
Rome, if you're not preachingand praising the Rome emperor,
nero, you're basically cuttingoff your own head.
But he doesn't care.
He viewed his imprisonment asan opportunity to share the
gospel and to emphasize unityand living out of faith with joy
, even in your suffering, andsuffering was second nature to
him.
Ben shared 2 Corinthians lastweek and he painted a clear
(05:01):
picture of his journey ofsuffering when we read he was
beaten with rods, he was lashed,stoned, shipwrecked, left for
dead, cold, hungry, held up,thirsty and naked, and he was
constantly on the run.
Paul lived through some prettyintense trials and could have
easily lived a life of despairand sorrow, but he viewed his
(05:22):
trials in the light of God'sword and he submitted to God's
sovereignty over hisimprisonment, over his misery
and even over his impendingexecution.
He was living the gospel toproclaim Christ in every way,
because he understood to live inChrist is to gain and to die in
Christ is to gain.
In other words, winner, winner,chicken dinner.
(05:43):
So rejoice in the Lord.
Always, again, I say rejoice.
But this concept is not easy tounderstand, especially when
circumstances are dark and heavy.
So Paul shares in this letterways to achieve the joy we
desperately desire, which bringsus to our reading today.
That Richard read in chapterfour and his command.
That implies we cannot be heldhostage to our circumstances.
(06:05):
Now think for a moment of thecircumstances that you have
lived or you are currentlyliving that hold you hostage.
Is it a loss?
Is it a transaction that's gonewrong?
Maybe it's a breakup, adisagreement, a toxic
relationship or a health scare.
(06:26):
How does that feel?
Is it crippling, paralyzing,controlling, overwhelming?
Is it numbing to you?
What if, instead that, insteadof it making you feel lonely and
crippling, it was described asjoyful?
Can you imagine the freeingfeeling you would have?
(06:48):
I know it may feel impossibleand I'm sure at some point Paul
felt the same.
How could he not through all ofhis sufferings.
But Paul made a deliberatechoice to have an attitude of
contentment and hope thattranscended his circumstances
and in his command to rejoicealways.
We have that choice as well,because if we don't, we will be
(07:09):
left for ruins.
Look around this world, notjust at your circumstance, but
all around this world.
This world is a mess.
Things in our control andthings out of our control are
spiraling, and people say thatthe Bible isn't irrelevant.
Please, isn't it?
A book that speaks forthousands of years to the human
(07:30):
condition and lays a foundationof moral and spiritual guidance.
A book that paints values forindividuals and families and
communities.
A word that fights off evil.
Check out this video.
I love it.
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The Bible is stable, no matterwhat was being thrown at it.
Right, and this is the wordthat poured over Paul while he
sat in prison and spoke of hisstrong faith.
He said Satan, you've gotnothing over me that God can't
defeat.
I am like a rock, and it's notbecause of anything in me, it's
because of who I know, andbecause of who I know I can
withstand the trials of thislife.
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His faith and story reminds meof this picture, taken in 1989
off the coast of France.
Do you see the man in thedoorway standing supposedly
unfazed by the waves crashing in?
Paul was this man.
The waves of his struggles arecrashing in around him and he
stands firm in his faith.
And Paul is commanding us tolive in this image, in the
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arrogance almost of joy andtrust in his faith, in a stoic
nature, when the world iscrashing in around us.
And he says do not be anxiousabout anything, it's not going
to be easy, but be in prayer.
And and he says do not beanxious about anything, it's not
going to be easy, but be inprayer and petition and
thanksgiving and bring yourtrials to God and let him meet
you there.
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Paul is not saying don't feelthe feels, but let's start with
your faith.
First, start big in the cosmicpicture of your trial and move
small.
Then dealing with the struggles, which is opposite of what the
world tells us.
The world says instead, startsmall and move small than
dealing with the struggles,which is opposite of what the
world tells us.
The world says instead, startsmall and move outwardly.
The world tells us to putband-aids on things and
medication and read moreself-help books and use white
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noise and do yoga and count andbreathe, and none of these
things are bad.
But Paul is commanding theopposite.
He says let's attack with thebig and work our way inward.
Start with your faith, see thecosmic picture and allow that to
speak into the circumstance andto give you perspective.
He argues remember yourcitizenship.
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He says your citizenship is inheaven.
Who, by the power that in it?
Whoops, sorry, your citizenshipis in heaven and we eagerly
await a Savior from there, theLord Jesus Christ, who, by the
power that enables him to bringeverything under his control,
will transform our lowly bodiesso that they will be like this
glorious body which tells usthat our future transformation
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and destination is thefoundation of which we stand
firm in the Lord.
So take a look at the cosmicpicture, the big picture, when
your trial hits, because, guesswhat?
Our lives come and go.
Ryan talks about it all thetime.
Our lives are vapor.
So don't be anxious, but ratherbe in prayer and petition and
thanksgiving.
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Feel the feels.
For sure no one is saying don'tplace value in the feelings and
emotions that come with pain andsuffering, but don't let the
pain be your destination, whichis our natural human desire.
We naturally create tensionwhen our human desires and needs
are not met, and then we aremet with anxiety and stress,
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sadness and depression.
But through understandingyourself and the nature of God
and depression, but throughunderstanding yourself and the
nature of God, we can find peacethat transcends and surpasses
the earthly struggles that weface.
And it is there where we willfind a calm in our hearts and in
our mindset that will guide usthrough even the darkest places
of our hurts and our pains.
I know I've shared our personalstory of loss of children
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before, but it connects to thischapter so well that this verse
played repeat in my mind.
During a very difficult time inour lives, prior to our son
Philip's birth, jeff and Iexperienced miscarriage after
miscarriage, and then we had afetal loss at 17 weeks that we
birthed, and then we were forcedto have a DNC at the hospital
for a possible second baby or atwin.
And then we had a fetal loss at17 weeks that we birthed, and
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then we were forced to have aDNC at the.
To say the least, it wasruining our picture of a perfect
family with a picket fencearound it.
I'll never forget coming homefrom the hospital devastated by
what had happened that was outof our control.
I retreated to our basement toargue and cry and shake my fist
at God, only to surprisinglyrepeat the words Sonia, do not
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be anxious about anything andsurrender.
Do not be anxious aboutanything and surrender.
Do not be anxious aboutanything and I surrender to you,
god, for whatever reason in myyoung faith, god placed in my
mind and my heart do not beanxious, lean into me and
surrender.
And through lots of tears andprayers and the release of my
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control, somehow we foundcontentment, not in the
circumstance, not at all, inwhat we had walked through, but
through my faith and myrelationship with Jesus.
How, honestly, I have no idea,other than I was tired of
desiring something so much, onlyto be hurt time and time again.
I had nothing else to turn toand I refused to live in the
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pain and be defined by the loss.
It wasn't easy, but we foundprovision in circumstances
because of Jesus.
And, just like Paul, I foundwisdom and protection in our
father and we were content.
And in time we were blessedwith our son Philip and
eventually our second son,connor, who challenged us enough
to ask why, god, why do wecontinue to suffer?
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Paul found this godlycontentment, not because it was
birthed to him.
He painfully and tediouslydeveloped it by walking with the
Lord.
So he learned to be contentwith anything, to live out of
pain and to be spirituallyunaffected by circumstances.
Verse 11 reads I'm not sayingthis because I am in need, for I
have learned to be contentwhatever the circumstance.
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I know what it is to be in needand I know what it is to have
plenty.
I have learned the secret ofbeing content in everything,
every situation, whetherwell-fed or hungry, whether
living in plenty or in want.
Did Paul feel the feels?
Of course he did.
Look at that face Worry andstress and brokenness.
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How could he not?
Trials naturally bring worry,as it did for many Bible
characters that leaned intotheir faith to teach us how to
trust our Father in all of themishaps of life.
Look at Jeremiah and Moses,joseph, ruth and Job.
Who doesn't feel for Job andall of his brokenness?
He lost everything, but he wascontent through his faith.
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And then there was Elijah andthe bleeding woman that bled for
12 years.
Ladies, she bled for 12 yearsand she was content and she
trusted in her faith.
And then there was Peter ohPeter, who denied Jesus three
times.
And yet Jesus said you're myguy, I will build my rock, my
foundation, on you, and thegates of Hades will have no
power of you or anything thatyou lead.
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And of course, for us, therewas Jesus, the one who models
contentment and peace thattranscends all human
understanding, as he diedbrutally on the cross for us.
And yet he shared his wordsremove my cup.
He asked his father to removehis pain and his suffering and
then he continued but your willbe done in my life Because of
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his faith.
He found contentment and peacein his faith.
Friends, this journey ofcontentment in our pain will be
a struggle, but if we view ourtrials through the lens of
scripture and Jesus and we livethrough our faith and not our
feelings, those struggles willbe less hard and Paul's final
challenge in his letter can beattainable when he shares I can
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do all things through Christ whostrengthens me.
I can do all things throughChrist who strengthens me, even
in the hardest trials, insuicide, in addictions, in
health scares, in brokenfamilies.
I can do all things in andthrough Christ who strengthens
me.
Things in our control andthings out of our control, such
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as job loss, homelessness,social and economic struggles.
I can do all things throughChrist who strengthens me.
Natural disasters that burn ourland, that destroy our homes
and sweep our children away infloods I can do all things
through Christ, who strengthensme.
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Knowing Christ in this cosmicending place, we know we can do
all things through Christ, evenin the worst situations.
I can't help but watch andlisten for the news from the
Texas floods that happened onJuly 4th, our country's day of
freedom, ironically.
A flood that killed over 135people and 100 people are still
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missing, many of those childrenthat participated in a Christian
camp.
And you know what floods mybrain more than anything, more
than the tragic mess, more thanthe homes that are gone and the
cleanup that they're going to bedevastated by.
It's the contentment and faithof the parents who lost their
children, contentment and faithof the parents who lost their
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children.
The Jacob family who lost theirdaughter, mary Kate, shared.
She was the light of our lives.
She was tiny but mighty, fullof love and joy, with a smile
that melted your heart.
We are utterly shattered andforever changed, but grateful to
God for her presence thatblessed our lives.
I can do all things in andthrough Christ, and the Lawrence
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family shared, who lost theireight-year-old twin daughters,
hannah and Rebecca, brought somuch joy to us, to their big
sister, harper, and so manyothers.
We will find ways to keep thatjoy and continue to spread it
for them.
Can you imagine finding thattype of commitment, contentment,
peace in your faith, to expressthose words after such a tragic
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loss?
I can only hope and pray that Iwill trust him well and that I
understand and face peace in theworst of the worst
circumstances in my life.
But as Christ followers, thisis what we are called and
commanded to do, no matter whatthe dire is.
Andrew Davis shares in his bookthe Power of Christian
Contentment.
Contentment in Christianperspective must never be
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confused with mere stoicism,proud self-denial, determined
self-sufficiency orcondescending aloofness.
Rather, it is the project ofknowing Christ so well and
trusting him so fully that thevicissitudes of life, no matter
how dire, cannot hold a candleto the joy of steadfastly
trusting our Heavenly Father.
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Central Lutheran Church today.
May your faith and relationshipwith our Father be so great and
so deep, so trustworthy, thatyour life and trials will be
filled with a contentment andpeace that allows you to praise
God always, to rejoice in theLord always and to share his
word with a world that isdesperate for a new narrative.
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Amen.
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