Is Paul giving the Philippian believers instructions for a reaction to anxiety or for proactive peace in Philippians 4:6-7?
[This discussion can be read aloud in 4 1/2 min.]
Philippians: Shine Like Stars – DAY 53
Family Discussions for Advent
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DAY 53/TUESDAY
Philippians 4:6-7
Proactive Peace
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
*Click here to read the NIrV, ESV, NLT, & CSB.
We’re continuing to follow along with the weekly themes of Christmas Advent — hope, peace, joy, love, & Christ — in light of our Philippians focus verses this month.
May our families shine like stars as we hold firmly to the word of life this Christmas celebration season!
Advent: Peace
proactive:
| acting in advance to deal with an expected difficulty; anticipatory |
*The American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed.
Christians should expect difficulties in life. After all, Jesus said,
“In this world you will have trouble.”
John 16:33 (NIV)
If we expect difficulties, we can prepare & plan to face them as best we can. This is being proactive. I postulate that Philippians 4:6-7 is meant to be proactive rather than reactive (tending to be responsive to or react to a stimulus).
*The American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed.
The Proactive Case, Exhibit A.
The first part of v.6:
“Do not be anxious about anything…”
Philippians 4:6a (NIV)
Notice, as I finally did after reading these verses for decades, Paul does not say, “when you are anxious,” but “do not be anxious.” This certainly sounds proactive.
Proactive or Reactive
The next part of v.6 could be interpreted as either reactive or proactive:
“…in every situation…”
Philippians 4:6b (NIV)
What constitutes a situation? Here are two definitions that may both apply to Paul’s words.
situation:
| 3. The combination of circumstances at a given moment; a state of affairs |
| 4. A critical, problematic, or striking set of circumstances |
*The American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed.
According to definition 3, you are in a situation every given moment. This would lend itself to my proactive interpretation.
Definition 4 is more of a “Houston, we have a problem”-type of situation which, thankfully, does not occur every moment! This points to a reactive interpretation.
Whether you believe the beginning of v.6 means to do the following steps Paul gives daily, no matter the situation, or to do the following in each critical, problematic situation, we can agree it reads like a command to be obeyed:
“…by prayer & petition,
Philippians 4:6c (NIV)
with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.”
Paul’s “How To” for Peace
How to Present Your Requests to God:
- Pray to God. Talk to Him.
- Petition God. Make your request(s).
- Thank God. Thank Him.
Read our key verses from Philippians again.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
If you present your requests to God by prayer (talking with God) & petition (actually making the request), with thanksgiving (not neglecting to thank God for all He has already provided), in every situation, the peace of God will guard your heart & mind.
The Proactive Case, Exhibit B.
Verse 7:
“…the peace of God…will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:7a,c (NIV)
Q: Can guarding happen before an attack and after?
A: You can only guard against something before an attack.
After an attack, there’s no more guarding that can be done. The walls have been breached! The enemy is in your territory! All you can do is fight the present enemy in an attempt to subdue or overcome him.
Q: When can the peace of God guard our hearts & minds in Christ Jesus?
A: Before anxiety-producing situations occur
Don’t get me wrong: It is still good to react to anxiety with prayer & the Word; but it’s even better — no, best! — to pray & feed on Scripture in advance of anxiety and the situations that tend to produce it in you.
DAY 53/TUESDAY Prayer
Father God,
Thank You for Your Word.
Prompt us daily by Your Holy Spirit within us to talk to You respectfully & reverently about anything and everything.
May we be ever more thankful for all You do, all You’ve done, & all You’ve promised to do. May we also be thankful for Who You are — our heavenly Father, Who made us and so loves us.
Lord, we are aware of things that tend to produce anxiety within us. Remind us to bring those things to You in prayer so Your peace can guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
For the anxiety we experience that is due to physical problems, please bless us with medical professionals who are competent and wise so we may receive relief.
We love You; thank You for first loving us.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
DAY 53: Paul gives the Philippian believers instructions for a reaction to anxiety or for proactive peace in Philippians 4:6-7.