Four Spiritual Disciplines

I recently led a discussion for college students based on Philippians 4:4-13. You may want to take the time to read the passage if it is not familiar to you. Paul shares with the disciples in Philippi what to do when their circumstances conflict with their desires and hopes (which happens quite often!).

Rejoice in all circumstances! It seems strange to hear Paul command people to rejoice, because we think of rejoicing as an involuntary activity. When something good happens to us we rejoice spontaneously. If we try to rejoice when we are “just not feeling it” it seems fake or even hypocritical. But as Christians, we rejoice because God is near, not because our circumstances are favorable. Our rejoicing, therefore, is relational not circumstantial.  

Pray in all situations! Unpredictable situations and loss of control most often fill us with anxiety. Anxiety does not like to pray, preferring instead to imagine an endless stream of worse case scenarios. Yet every situation that ignites anxiety can also be interpreted as a call to prayer. When we learn to take all of our cares and burdens to God in prayer, our outlook on life will be determined by our faith, not by our fears.  

Control your thoughts! While we cannot stop thoughts from coming randomly to our minds, we can refuse to constantly think unhelpful thoughts. Martin Luther once said, “You can’t keep birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair!” Paul encourages us to think about things that are pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. If these are the things that fill our minds, we will have little problem rejoicing and praying!   

Practice your faith! Knowledge is never just for the purpose of filling our brains with true things, rather knowledge is intended to fill our lives with helpful activity. There is no such thing as inactive faith.

Paul claimed, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation...” This learning demands activity on our part. Dallas Willard says that spiritual disciplines “allow us to do with practice and effort what we once could not do at all.” I think Paul would love that definition. Paul says the secret is “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Learning to love and trust Jesus in all our various circumstances is the key to spiritual maturity.