HAPPY AND WITHOUT ANXIETY
John N Darby
Philippians 4: 1-9
The apostle desired that we should always rejoice. It is not that the circumstances in which Paul was found were cheering; he had been in prison for four years, bound to a soldier and always watched. Besides, it is debatable if he had done well in going up to Jerusalem; it is possible that he had done wrong, but I do not discuss that. The apostle could have been exercised in thinking of it and say: ‘If I had not appealed to Caesar, I would not have been found like this’: not at all. He could also have been in need, chap 4: 12. All that was not the subject of joy; and yet it is he who encourages others, those who are free. A power is seen in him above all the circumstances - entirely above them.
It was a great test for a man of such energy to be found thus. He could have thought that if he was free he could display great activity, but he says that “this shall turn out to me for salvation”, chap 1: 19. The enemy seemed to have gained a great victory, but Paul says: ‘It is my victory’, and he adds, “I have strength for all things in him that gives me power”, chap 4: 13. Being so near to the Lord that He filled his heart, the circumstances have no more place. It is true that since his imprisonment he wrote to the Ephesians, the Colossians, etc, but it was not this that consoled him. It is in the Lord that he rejoiced, and nothing could disturb his joy.
We find this in Christ. The Jews had rejected Him; He had been crucified. He found no sympathy, even with His own, and His desire for them is that they should have His joy fulfilled in them. Divine life has its own joy. In the Lord, one can always rejoice. It is the inexhaustible source. We see this in Paul. The more he felt that he had nothing to seek in this world, the more he rejoiced.
What is enough for the Father’s affection - His Son - has been given to us. The power of the exercise of love is in us and is a source of joy that nothing dries up. “Rejoice in the Lord always”. This is a precept. One can see what filled the apostle’s heart. There was like a channel there bringing the grace of God.
On the other hand, the apostle was entirely above the circumstances. He was going to be tried, but he is so happy that he knows not what to choose: If he is put to death, he is sent to heaven; if he is left, he will preach heaven in spite of opposition. One does not know what to do with a man like that. It is a power entirely above circumstances.
Have we afflictions? Christ is found there with us; then I say: I desire to have afflictions - Are you content to keep your thorn?
Christ comes into all the afflictions of our hearts and he desires that we should feel that He is with us. You will find that being with His disciples, He takes pains to make them understand His love. See for example at the baptism of John. What had He to do with the repentant ones? He puts Himself there with His own; there in their place. The heaven opens upon Him and His is anointed with the Holy Spirit. The matter is taught as doctrine elsewhere.
In Matthew 17, we have another example: Peter is asked if his Master paid the tribute for the temple service and Peter said, ‘Certainly’. Then the Lord anticipated him, showing that He knew all, and said to him “What dost thou think, Simon? … Go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and when thou hast opened its mouth thou wilt find a stater; take that and give it to them for me and thee”, v 25-27. He associates Peter with Himself in this position as sons of the great King of the temple.
See what Christ does for us. He introduces us there, and desires that we have the consciousness of it. More, not only does He introduce us into this heavenly position, but He comes down with us into earthly things. All the circumstances are but occasions for Him.
“Let your gentleness be known of all men” - Do not insist on your rights. - Why? Oh! Because I have heaven. Then the Lord is near. He is coming soon. If Christ is the object of my heart, the things of this world, be it pains, be it joys, will indeed be of little importance. What fascination we often find in the things of this life!
“Be careful about nothing; but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…” How often I have found in this passage a precious consolation for my heart!
“… Nothing …”; I do not speak only of the things of this life, the wrongs that may be done to me and which would affect my temporal welfare, and the things down here which at the end of the day will be forgotten. But if I see a brother walking badly, or an assembly, I say, yet how disturbing it is! The apostle cuts short and says “… nothing …”.
Where are you, dear friends? Perhaps you say, ‘There are such hard things!’. This exhortation would not be needed if there were not painful circumstances. It does not say: Seek His will, but speak to God about it; lay it out to Him. Is He Himself troubled? Is His throne shaken? The consequence of this is that His peace “which passes every understanding” keeps my heart and my thoughts in Christ Jesus. I say, ‘What shall I do?’. I do not know, but I know He loves me. When the heart is thus set free from anxieties, one can be occupied with innumerable things without restriction. And there is God, the God of peace is with us. That is where the Christian is: rejoicing in the Lord and anxious about nothing.
Dear friends, have you confidence in this love to present your requests for all things and be anxious about nothing? God desires that our hearts should be thus set free so as to be occupied with all that is good. May Christ be in our souls and circumstances, and this will safeguard you from all anxiety. It is impossible to manifest a love like that of Christ: - You can have a perfect confidence in this love.
GENEVA
This article is translated from a note published in a French periodical, ‘Ondées’ (‘showers’), in August 1933. The note itself is not dated but there is reason to think it was taken on an early visit by Mr Darby to Switzerland – perhaps in the 1830s.