This week’s revised common lectionary reminds us to embrace gentleness even when circumstances could lead to anxiousness. 

Philippians 4:4-7 (NKJV)

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

⁵ Let your ^[a]gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (emphasis added)

As I near the Christmas season, I am faced with various challenging situations and worries about world peace, instability and war.

Life’s challenges can rob us of joy. For example:

• loss of a loved one
• illness or an accident
• financial woes
• problems at work or in our relationships
• global instability.

I struggle with rejoicing. I feel jaded and cynical about where the world is headed.

But the fruit of the Spirit include joy and peace. Anxiety and depression are not on this list.

But, I’m not told to rejoice in my circumstances or because everything is going great. I’m reminded to rejoice in the Creator. That is, to trust in Spirit’s blessings and goodness.

So, how do I practice joy and gentleness in challenging situations?

How do I put my trust in Spirit? Where do I find the peace that surpasses all understanding?

Rejoicing – being anxious for nothing – is something that we practice daily. It goes beyond circumstances and environment. 

That is why we read:

Let your gentleness (forbearance, graciousness, reasonableness) be known to all. 

Forbearance, patience and reasonableness is the knowledge that “This too shall pass”. No matter what the situation is right now, I can rest in the knowledge that there is a Creator and Good that has a bigger plan and picture than what I can see. 

Learning to trust

Life (and Good) has a way of teaching me lessons in trust and patience.

Can I sit in joy and peace while the storm is all around me? Do I feel the presence of Spirit in spite of the storm? 

The peace of Good will guard both my heart and mind because I have already made my requests known through prayer and supplication. 

Let’s have a quick look at this order: in everything, by prayer and supplication (with thanksgiving) I make my requests known. As a result of this, I can be anxious for nothing. Now the peace of God, surpassing all my understanding, overthinking and catastrophizing, will protect my heart and mind.

What am I thankful for at this time?

I’m going to sit and make a list of all the times that I have been in trouble and the blessings that this has brought to me. What are the lessons that I learned through challenging times?

What unexpected blessings have I received in previous challenges?

How have I seen the hand of Good in my life so far?

What does it mean by prayer and supplication?

Is supplication begging?

Not necessarily. Supplication, however, directly implies that there is a request, which is humbly made. So, the request is made with humility.

It’s not a demand, nor is it begging.

Instead, there’s an acknowledgement that there is a need and perhaps an urgency. And there is trust and faith that this need will be met. 

So, when we make our requests known, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, we are humble and trusting, because we have a history of having our previous prayers and requests met.

We trust that our highest good and growth needs will be met.

I am anxious for nothing.

There is no point in worrying.

Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles. Instead, it takes away today’s peace.

If I can do something about the situation, then I should not spend my time and energy on worry. I should plan and take action.

If I cannot do anything to change the situation, then what’s the point of worrying? This is the time to put my faith and trust that things will work out for my highest good. 

Guard my heart and mind

Because I have put my trust in Good, Ican then allow peace to guard my heart and mind.

Note that these are two different things.

My heart is different from my mind. They work differently and impacted in different ways.

My heart is emotional – it feels: fear, anxiety (tightening of the chest, struggling to breathe), joy, anger and a myriad of other emotions. These might not be rational, but instead are experienced.

Why does my heart need to be guarded?

Well, we’ve heard of people that have been frightened to death and their heart stopped. How many people are angered to death?

On the other hand, we guard our mind from overthinking and catastrophizing. We create an entire world of “What if…?” And we can spend 90% of our time and energy on a situation that never actually takes place. 

I need the peace of the Divine to guard both my heart and mind when I’m in a challenging situation. Otherwise, all my energy will be wasted on suffering anxiety because I’m busy overthinking. 

Gentleness in challenging situations

Gentleness in this context has a connotation: be patient, reasonable, self-controlled and sober-minded.

Most importantly, gentleness is not being a doormat. In fact, a gentle person is someone that can argue their case without getting upset or angry.

Gentleness is like a wild horse that has been tamed, but still retains all their vitality and life-force.

Being patient and self-controlled is active, not passive.

I practice being this way, staying present with the Divine. 

Gentleness is a state of being: there is a deep inner peace that comes from practising staying near to Spirit in time and space.

The Lord is near (at hand).

So, while I am reminded that the Lord is near – am I practising awareness of staying near and attuned to this peace? I have to acknowledge and practise this.

It doesn’t always come naturally. My natural way of being is overthinking, catastrophzing and awfulizing. I create stories in my mind and then fall into a pit of emotions that align with these thoughts, far from peace and gentleness.

Practising being in the Spirit takes me from gentle for 2 minutes and then anxious and overthinking for the next 30, to practising peace and staying present with the Divine. When I find myself complaining constantly about my circumstances and what someone said or did, I remind myself “the Lord is near, so I should calm down¨. 

This is a practice, until it becomes a habit. Eventually, with enough practice it can become a way of being.

Because I practice daily and throughout every moment of the day the presence of the Divine in my life, I connect with this peace and sober-mindedness. I practice controlling my emotions and my thoughts, allowing them to be peaceful and gentle.

My gentleness becomes how I show up in the world, regardless of the challenges of the season. Others know me to be gentle and patient, seeing how the Spirit is in me.

Then, it becomes natural to say “I rejoice in the Spirit”.