"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition , with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Phil.4:4-7 (NIV)

I know this is a familiar bible passage to us and sometimes we over-look things that are familiar or we kind of tune them out because we have heard the passage so often....BUT...sometimes we need to re-visit things.

Just what does it mean to rejoice in the Lord always? As we go about our daily life...getting kids ready for school, grocery shopping, tasks at work, doing the laundry, preparing dinner....just how are we to rejoice in the Lord? Life is so routine at times that we forget to have an attitude of rejoicing. Rejoice: to be glad or take delight. So, as we go about our daily routine it is important to remember that in all things to keep our focus on Jesus and we will be glad.

When we continue to rejoice in all things, we will have a gentleness that will be evident to all. When someone speaks harsh words to us or about someone else, since our mind has already been in a "glad" thought process it will be easier to remember to respond with gentleness. As we deal with husbands, our kids, or co-workers gentleness is an important quality to have. We need to be so in tune with the gentleness of Jesus that it exudes...becomes in a sense our "aura" if I may use that term. People desire to be near a gentle person. A gentle person is also one who is not anxious. Worries and cares of the world and of their present situation just seem not to be a bother. I desire to be like the Proverbs 31 lady. In Proverbs 31 it says she "laughs at the days to come"; which means she does not worry and is not anxious. She has a peace. Being in her presence is peaceful.

This peaceful lady is our example. The way to be gentle and worry-free is to continue to offer our petitions and requests to Jesus in our prayers. As we go about our daily living, simply talking to Jesus almost as in our breathing. We can communicate with Him always by talking with Him quietly in our hearts and minds. He will keep us gentle, at peace, and worry-free because we are allowing Him to guard our hearts by sharing with Him constantly.