Rejoice in the Lord; Be Anxious for Nothing (Philippians 4:4–7)

Having given this particular admonition to individuals—which seemed to arise as if by chance, yet most likely had its own special significance—St. Paul turns to all the Philippians, teaching them to follow such rules as express the characteristic marks of the Christian life (Phil. 4:4–9).

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

About what are they to rejoice? About the fact that you are Christians, that your sins are forgiven, that you have the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you live in holiness by His power, that you are entering into co-suffering with the Lord and have therefore a sure hope of being counted worthy also of the glorious resurrection. This is what to rejoice about! Freed from evil, and filled with every good, and yet nourishing the sure hope of receiving such blessings as cannot even be imagined—how can one not rejoice? Joy in the spirit is the constant companion of Christians, both amid voluntary privations and amid involuntary sufferings. This is why the Apostle was not content to say “rejoice” once—but added “again”—“rejoice.” — How reproved you are by the absence of spiritual joy! For it is an unmistakable sign: that our Christianity is very deficient, that much is lacking in it. Most of all this joy is undermined by earthly hopes, earthly tastes—and by the lack of eagerness to do every good that presents itself: life is sluggish, we live anyhow, shuffling along.

St. Chrysostom says on this passage: “The Lord says: ‘Blessed are those who mourn’ and: ‘Woe to those who laugh’ (Mt. 5:4; cf.: Lk. 6:25)! How then does Paul say: ‘rejoice in the Lord always’? The Apostle does not contradict Christ—not at all. For ‘woe to those who laugh’—said the Lord—meaning the laughter of the world, which is laughter over the things of the present; and He called those blessed who mourn—not those who grieve only over the loss of property, but those who sorrow and weep for their own transgressions, meditating on their sins or the sins of others. This weeping is not only not opposed to that joy—it is precisely from this weeping that the joy is born. For he who weeps over and confesses his sins and transgressions—rejoices. In other words, one can weep for one’s sins, and at the same time rejoice in the Lord.”

“Rejoice in the Lord.” “These words mean this: live in such a way as to have cause for rejoicing. Therefore rejoice when the things done for God are accomplished among you without hindrance. ‘Again I will say, rejoice!’ To say this is proper for one who is firmly convinced and who shows that a person who abides in God always rejoices. If such a one is sorrowful, if he suffers something—he always rejoices. For hear what Luke relates concerning the Apostles: ‘they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for His name’ (Acts 5:41). If stripes and bonds, which appear above all else to be burdensome, produce joy—what else could cause us grief?” (St. Chrysostom).

Phil. 4:5. Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

Gentleness is the virtue opposed to irritability and anger. He who has acquired it has driven out a whole half of the passions. Gentleness together with purity is the bulwark of full and perfect freedom from passion. This is why the Lord counted it blessed (Mt. 5:5). St. John of the Ladder defines it thus: “Gentleness is an undisturbed condition of the soul that remains the same in dishonor as in praise” (St. John Climacus. The Ladder, Step 8, 3). “A mark of gentleness is to preserve, toward the one who provokes us and even in his presence, the pledge of love in a tranquil heart” (ibid., Step 8, 13)—“and to pray for him purely” (ibid., Step 24, 3). “In gentle hearts the Lord reposes” (ibid., Step 24, 7); “a gentle soul is a throne of simplicity” (ibid., Step 24, 9).

St. Chrysostom places this instruction in connection with what was said earlier about their sufferings for the Lord’s sake. He considers that, out of concern lest the Philippians should become hostile toward those who caused them sorrows, “the Apostle exhorts them that they should have nothing in common with such people and not pursue them with hatred, but should deal with them with great gentleness—not only with the brethren, but even with enemies and adversaries.” Theodoret writes the same: “bear the attacks of your opponents with courage, and do not repay evil with evil.” — But Oecumenius and Theophylact see the occasion for this lesson in the strong rebuke of the pleasure-seekers that the Apostle has just expressed—likewise out of concern lest the innocent should turn in a hostile attitude toward them. — “But one can connect the present lesson with that rebuke also in another way. By that rebuke, the Apostle turned the Philippians away from lust, which is the first source of the passions; and by this lesson he turns them away from irritability and anger—the second source of the passions. By both he leads them toward freedom from passion.” The enemy usually assails us either with anger or with lust—whichever is the more convenient at any given moment. But one whom neither anger nor lust troubles—who has acquired gentleness against the former and purity against the latter—the enemy has no access to.

“Let your gentleness be known to all men”—not so as to display it only before people, but the meaning is this: that all people may experience your gentleness in their dealings with you. This is the same as saying: be gentle toward all people—both your own and strangers, both great and small.

“The Lord is at hand.” This saying can be applied both to what precedes and to what follows. It offers two thoughts—both that the Lord is present and near to all who call upon Him, and that the second coming of the Lord is near. Confidence in both equally assists in driving away anger and establishing gentleness, if this saying is placed in close connection with the preceding lesson. Equally, too, both thoughts assist in fulfilling what the Apostle enjoins in what follows—that is, to have no anxiety about anything.

As to how the thought of God’s omnipresence restrains anger, St. Basil the Great writes: “How can one avoid coming to anger? If one is always in the thought that one stands before the eyes of the watching God and of the Lord who is near you. For what subject would dare, in the eyes of his sovereign, to attempt something displeasing to him?” (St. Basil the Great. Short Rules, 29). In another place he writes: “If the gaze of a man, equal to us in nature but superior to us in rank, restrains one from passion (of anger); how much more will he be restrained who is steadfastly assured that God is the observer of our own inner movements—since God, who searches hearts and minds, sees the movements of the soul far more than a man sees the changes of a face” (ibid., 127).

How the thought of the nearness of the Second Coming and the Judgment restrains anger and the desire for revenge is confirmed by universal experience. For what does the person who has been wronged commonly say to console himself? “There is a God who is Judge; He will repay.” If one adds to this the conviction that this very Judge is about to appear—then no better means of calming a troubled heart can be found.

Phil. 4:6. Be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

“Be anxious about nothing.” St. Chrysostom, connecting this instruction with the preceding—“The Lord is at hand”—with the sufferings of the believers in Philippi in mind, draws from the Apostle’s words this consolation for them: “The Lord is at hand. Be anxious about nothing.” For tell me, why are you despondent? Because enemies rise against you? “Be anxious about nothing.” Judgment has already come: soon they will answer for their deeds. You may be in tribulation—but it will soon end. They may scheme and threaten—but this too will not long be permitted them; judgment is already near, the time of recompense has already come, when everything will be reversed. “Be anxious about nothing.”

But one may see in these words a lesson—not only in times of tribulation, but in all circumstances of life—to cast all one’s care upon the Lord, for He cares for us. The Apostle instills complete surrender to the will of God and cuts away ruinous over-anxiety, which habitually so wearies the soul and robs the heart of all peace. He sets forth here the same teaching as the Lord, when He said: “Be not anxious about your life” and “your body… be not anxious for tomorrow” (Mt. 6:25, 34). For there is a Heavenly Father—just as in the Apostle’s words here: “The Lord is at hand.”

This does not encourage idleness, but cuts away the evil anxiety that adds nothing to one’s works or their success, and only wearies the soul and gnaws at the heart. The Saviour was exposing precisely this passion when He said that just as one cannot add a cubit to one’s stature by worrying, so also in one’s affairs—one cannot add prosperity by it. Labor—by all means labor; but as for what will come of the labor, leave it to the Lord to determine, and accept what He gives. For though you labor, it is the Lord who grants the fruit of your labor. Cast upon Him all your care. — And again: because He is at hand.

Having received this thought, we will find in the Apostle’s words a complete guide to attaining the peaceful disposition of the heart and securing success in the spiritual life. He has already cut away, as we saw, lust—by reproving those who live for bodily pleasure; anger—by the commandment of gentleness; and now he cuts away evil anxiety, animated by love of money. Whoever has cut away these three things has cut away all bonds and entered the realm of spiritual freedom. But whoever still allows them a determining power over him—however slight their hold—does not yet know what freedom in the Lord is (St. Isaac the Syrian, Ascetic Homilies, Homily 90).

Having surrendered yourself in all things to the will of the Lord, who is at hand, cultivate a vigilant and attentive thought toward the Lord. The Lord is at hand. Enter consciously into this truth. When you have entered it, can you, pondering the greatness of Him who is near, fail to stand in awe? And pondering the fact that He is the Father of mercies, can you fail to pray? Into prayer the Apostle now leads us. “But in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” The Lord is at hand; leave your anxieties—and tell Him what you need. These, then, are the conditions for success in prayer!

First—pray “in everything,” that is, on every occasion, for every need—outward and inward, spiritual and temporal. Do not suppose that in one matter you can succeed on your own, while in another you should ask the Lord. That is double-mindedness—the mark of a disordered spirit. Everything comes from the Lord, great and small alike. Turn to Him in everything; receive everything as from His hand, even when you yourself have labored. This is the essence of surrender to God—and this is also the first condition for success in prayer.

Second—pray “with prayer and supplication,” that is, from the depths of the soul—not uttering the prayer-word merely with the tip of the tongue. Whatever you pray about, you must feel the need of it and be conscious that you can receive it only from the Lord. If everything comes from the Lord, then with respect to everything you must so dispose yourself. Prayer will then always be from the depths of the soul. The foundation of this is faith and hope.

Third—pray “with thanksgiving.” St. Basil the Great counsels that every prayer begin with thanksgiving. Give thanks for what has been received; then ask for something new. St. Chrysostom says: “The Apostle desires that in our prayers we not only ask, but also give thanks for what we already have. For how shall he ask for the future who cannot give thanks for the past? Thus one ought to give thanks for everything, even for what seems grievous. For this is the mark of a truly noble soul. The first (giving thanks for all we have) is required by the very nature of things; the latter (giving thanks even for what is grievous) proceeds from a soul that is well ordered and completely surrendered to God.”

Fourth—pray by “making known” your own “requests.” You feel a need; you believe and hope that you can receive it only from the Lord—tell Him so, as you know how and are able. Many fine words are not required. Speak as you feel; speak in your own words. The very act of speaking in prayer demonstrates your faith that the Lord is at hand and attends. “Let them be made known,” γνωριζεσυω — let God be informed. Make God aware of your needs.

Fifth—pray, making your requests “before God.” If you are conscious that God exists, then in praying before God you will not dare to utter a request for something you know to be displeasing to God. Pray for things worthy of God. “Such prayers are pleasing to God; to others He does not attend. Therefore pray for what is pleasing to Him” (St. Chrysostom). Or “before God” means: with an undistracted mind, reverently—being conscious that you stand before God and are delivering your requests into His very ears.

Phil. 4:7. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

“The peace of God”—either peace with God, which God established with mankind by not sparing His Only-begotten Son so as to be reconciled with us; or the Divine, Godly peace—that peace in which God abides within Himself and which He sends down into the souls of those who sincerely believe and faithfully live by faith, as the Saviour also said: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you” (Jn. 14:27). (Both meanings are accepted by St. Chrysostom and our other Fathers.) The two are one and the same, or they converge in one. The peace in the hearts of believers is built through reconciliation with God in our Lord Jesus Christ. In the person of the Lord, reconciliation was accomplished for all and for ever; but each person appropriates it to himself under specific conditions. When he fulfills those conditions, the peace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ overshadows him and fills his whole interior. There is a path to this peace that must be traversed in order to taste it. Since not every believer traverses it, or has not yet traversed it fully, not everyone tastes this peace. Therefore the Apostle desires that all might taste it, that it might overshadow all—that all might be granted this inexpressible good, having fulfilled all that is required for it.

“Shall guard”—shall guard, shall keep watch, shall be a sentinel. This also conveys the thought that what is expressed here is not merely a good wish, but a consequence of what precedes—as if to say: do all that has been set forth, and the peace of God will encompass you and be your guardian. If peace is the consequence, then all that precedes is the means to it. What does this mean? When you, having overcome every form of self-indulgence, enter upon the cross-bearing path of merciless self-denial; when you have quenched every irritability within yourself and clothed yourselves in gentleness; when, casting off evil over-anxiety, you surrender your souls and bodies, your entire temporal and eternal lot, into the hands of the Lord—who is at hand and within you—and in all things, at every time, in every place, on every occasion, you lift yourselves up to God in warm, reverent, and undistracted prayer: then the peace of God will overshadow you and will keep watch over your hearts and your minds. Put in other words: drive out self-indulgence, irritability, and evil anxiety—and you will drive out all that disturbs; surrender yourself to the Lord and stand before Him in prayer—and you will receive all that calms and brings peace. The result is plain: the peace of God will guard you. While the passions are not overcome, while the soul has not found its rest in God—do not expect the peace of God. It may visit you from time to time—drawing you ever forward and onward on your good path by its sweetness.

The peace of God, when it comes, will keep watch over “hearts” and “minds.” “Minds”—conceptions, thoughts, reflections. “Hearts”—feelings and dispositions. In our ordinary condition, thoughts swirl about like motes of dust, and the heart is perpetually agitated—now under the influence of thoughts, now under the demands of self-indulgence, irritability, and anxiety. The more these enemies of ours are subdued, the calmer the heart becomes and the less the thoughts churn. When they are entirely driven out, the heart comes completely to rest and the thoughts settle. But this does not happen in any other way than by this: in leaving one thing behind, you must attach yourself to another. Neither thoughts nor the heart can exist without activity or feeling. In weaning them from one thing, you must at the same time accustom them to another, an opposite. That accustoming produces the weaning. To what precisely one is to be accustomed, the Apostle explains in the following verse. Here we will say only: to everything divine. The divine, even while in unceasing activity, abides in peace.

This peace surpasses all understanding, and because it is inexpressible, it cannot be conveyed in ordinary terms or described to another in such a way that he might comprehend it. It can only be tasted; and one who tastes it understands it, but can compare it to nothing so as to explain it. It also surpasses all understanding for this reason: that it comes apart from the understanding; the mind does not know how to attain it; it is given—but how and why is beyond comprehension.

It is given “in Christ Jesus.” Only true Christians can possess it. The sole path to it is true Christian faith. Whoever realizes it in himself becomes one spirit with the Lord Jesus Christ; and through Him—one with the Godhead. To taste the peace of God is the same as to taste communion with God. When God communicates Himself to the spirit of a man, that man is then overshadowed with peace. God is the God of peace. And communion with God is possible only in the Lord Jesus Christ—through the way that is held by the Orthodox faith alone.