04.01.02

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:4-7.

Their supervisors most likely thought it was an April Fools joke when three Seattle police officers called in with an incredibly terrible story. Two of the officers in separate vehicles responded to a non-emergency call and on their way they crashed into each other totaling both of their cars. In addition to the damage to those vehicles an undercover officer who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time had his SUV damaged in the pile up as well.

It must have been a day like that for another man who after being at sea for fourteen days in a terrible storm the ship finally ran aground and broke up on an island. After surviving the shipwreck he was huddled around a fire in the rain trying to dry out a little when a snake bit him on the hand. It happened to the apostle Paul and is recorded in Acts 27 and 28.

What I find most incredible about the terrible things that happened to Paul is not that he shook off the poisonous snake and lived to tell about it. No, what I find most incredible is that after this event and while he was in prison in Rome he was able to write the words recorded in Philippians chapter 4. How could Paul write such words after he had experienced those horrible things? The apostle could write them because he knew them to be true. He had himself experienced the peace of God beyond his understanding and he rejoiced because he knew his God to be real and present in his life.

If you ever find yourself having a day that seems like an April Fools joke don’t give up, don’t throw in the towel. Instead cast all your anxieties, and problems on the Lord. Then you too will be able to rejoice as you experience the peace of God beyond human understanding in the midst of the storm.

Let us rejoice!!