We continued our study of finding strength in spiritual love by looking at how our relationship with God helps us to see His hand working good in the world.

In the first three verses, we see that an issue has arisen between two godly women who had been helpful to Paul. He encourages them to look to their common spiritual love in the Lord as a means of resolving their differences. Seems church issues haven’t changed in a couple thousand years!

We then read verses 4 to 6, which speak of rejoicing in the Lord, being anxious for nothing and praying with thanksgiving. We had several thoughts on the passage. We all acknowledged that having faith in an invisible God during difficult situations is a real challenge. Sometimes we pray for one thing, but God gives us a different answer. We rejoice when we see the “why” of such an answer. Sometimes we grow concerned that we “aren’t praying right.” God consoles us by reminding us He knows our hearts - that is, the words are not a magic spell that need be spoken just so. We realized that we can understand only so much, but God is much deeper. We also acknowledged that we don’t see all points, because sometimes we just take on the views of the group (social referencing).

Verses 7 to 9 encourage us to keep our minds on the things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, reputable and excellent. This helps keep our spirits pointed in the right direction on a day-to-day basis.