Rejoice, then rest

I was reading Philippians 4, and was struck by something Paul says. He urges the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord, and "then the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Then he says later in verses 8 and 9 to focus on the things of the Lord and "the God of peace will be with you."

Though I've read these verses lots before, I've never truly noticed the arrangement of Paul's words. He talks experiencing the peace of God in the context of rejoicing/enjoying the things God has for us. It seems backwards -- like I should only be able to rejoice once I feel a certain amount of peace or calm in my life. And I suppose that is true at times. But it's also a glorious and difficult truth about the Christian life that we are called to rejoice even in our pain.

"Joy is something we cannot produce ourselves; it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit" ("Thru the Bible" commentary, McGee). Joy is a gift from the Holy Spirit, and peace comes from our Lord -- the Prince of Peace. And we can pray for these things, and God supplies us with these things.

McGee writes about it like this: "Notice that we entered this passage in anxiety, with worry, and we come out of the passage with peace. Between the two was prayer. Have things changed? Not really. The storm may still be raging, the waves still rolling high, the thunder still resounding. Although the storm has not abated, something has happened in the individual. Something has happened to the human soul and the human mind. In our anxiety we want God to change everything around us. 'Give us this.' 'Don't let this happen." "Open up this door.' We should be praying, "Oh, God, change me.' Prayer is the secret of power."