𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣
• What is the most peaceful image you’ve ever seen? Tell us what you saw and why it brought you so much peace.
• When was the last time you rejoiced over something? What happened and what did you do to express your joy?
• Who would you consider as a role model for strength? Why?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗
𝘙𝘦𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴; 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘺, 𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟰:𝟰

Despite his circumstances, Paul’s letter to the Philippians overflows with joy. We can see that his joy was neither anchored on his external situations nor on his internal ability to stay positive. Rather, Paul rejoiced because he knew that God was in control. To rejoice in the Lord means more than finding joy in Him. It means finding joy again, over and over. In this lesson, we will look at why we can rejoice in all circumstances, according to the apostle Paul.

𝟭. 𝗜𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁, 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆.

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

As believers, we can experience the peace of God. Because of Christ’s sacrifice, we have been reconciled to God and placed in a position to receive His favor. It’s easy to be at peace when everything around us is calm and quiet. But the peace we have in Christ surpasses all understanding. Paul assures us that even in the midst of trials and chaos, God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds. We can trust God and be completely confident that He is in our midst, working to bring everything together for our good. Because of this, we can rejoice no matter our situations. How have you experienced the peace of God recently? How did His peace guard your heart and mind?

𝟮. 𝗜𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁, 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸.

𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘸, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. 𝘐𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥. 𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟰:𝟭𝟭–𝟭𝟮

Paul knew what it was like to be in need. But all the difficulties he experienced only served to teach him to be content. Contentment was not automatic for Paul. It was something he learned as God allowed him to experience both abundance and lack. In the same way, as believers, we can choose to be content wherever God takes us and with whatever He brings into our lives. Our joy comes not from our earthly possessions or anything we’ve gained in this life but from God who provides all our needs. What does Matthew 6:26 say about God as a provider? How does this truth enable you to be content in Him?

𝟯. 𝗜𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁, 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲.

𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘦. 𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟰:𝟭𝟯

God did not promise Paul a trouble-free life. On the contrary, Paul faced much trouble throughout his lifetime. But he was able to rejoice in the midst of it all, because he knew that God was the source of his strength. Because of that, Paul was confident that he could overcome all these. In the same way, we can have joy despite our troubles, because we know that we can experience God’s power in the midst of it. Our joy comes not from believing that God can solve our problems but from the fact that we get to know God more and experience His reality in our lives as we go through our trials. When was the last time you experienced the power of God in your life? How did this experience make you feel, and how did it affect the way you pursue God?

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
• Look for two or three Bible verses that talk about the peace of God. Write them down and memorize them this week. Declare them by faith whenever you feel anxious.
• Would you say you’re content in Christ, in spite of your current situation? What can you do to grow in contentment every day?
• Who can you encourage this week to have joy in all circumstances? What are you willing to do to help him or her rejoice in the Lord always?

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥
• Thank God for His peace that is based on who He is, not our circumstances. Thank Him for guarding your heart and mind and giving you joy as you pursue Him.
• Ask God for grace to be content in any situation. Pray that your joy will always be anchored on who He is and not what you have.
• Pray for those you know who are going through a difficult time this week. Pray that they will not only have the grace to rejoice in the midst of the situation but that they would draw even closer to God.