State of Mind: Philippians 4:11-13

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Vacations can stress you out. You can come home unrested. Rest is a state of mind not an opportunity you have to save up for. Money can relieve burdens but then create new ones.

Being in a relationship can bring joy but also can make life more complicated too. Everything on this earth offers us a mixed bag at best, not a guarantee of rest. No, rest is a state of mind.

It’s possible to feel rested any given day, even when you working hard or surrounded by trouble. Paul said there’s a secret to how to do it. He said you have to learn the secret:

“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. I can do all things through him who strengthens me”

(Philippians 4:11b-13 ESV).

When he had a lot or a little, Paul learned how to be content. What are some contentment killers for us? Four things sneak up that we need to learn the secret about:

1. Comparison kills contentment. Looking at what others do or have makes you feel inadequate.

2. Expectation kills contentment. When what you thought would happen doesn’t happen (how you’d be treated, what you’d get, how someone would act) it’s hard to rest in what does happen.

3. Control kills contentment. Expecting that you can persuade someone or prevent something can make you lose joy in the process, and you’ll only have joy in the outcome if it meets your expectations. Your relationships will certainly struggle.

4. Image kills contentment. Concern for how others see you will have you looking over your shoulder constantly, contorting your true self.

Comparison, expectation, control, and image will not allow you to be rested when you have hunger or plenty. They will fight you when you have needs, and they will even fight you when you have abundance.

But you can do all that you need to do in every situation when you rest in the strength of the Strengthener, who is Jesus Christ. I can kick the winning field goal if he wants that, and handle that well. I can miss the field goal, and handle that well. I can be overlooked and not get the chance to kick it, and handle that well too!

When Jesus is your peace and Lord, you learn the secret of rest. Jesus is Lord. I am not. My troubles are not. My goals are not. Other people are not. Jesus is Lord, and he is for me. He died for my sin, rose for my forgiveness, intercedes for me, and strengthens me to handle good times with humility and hard times with durability. I am rested as I put my mind on him and my life in his hands. Rest is a state of mind, earned for you at the cross.