The Christian life is like a cable car that is running up and down hills all day long but without any power of their own. Hidden under the street is a cable which the “Grip Man” with his levers must pull back to take hold of the cable in order to be moving. The car without the cable “stands firm” as it is the cable that is mobile.
The Christian life is victoriously able to move forward as well as stand still all because invisibly it remains resting upon our cable in Jesus. Our race is gripping Jesus as we conquer the hills that cause difficulties and make resting hard as we face the obstacles of anxiety.
Now notice that Paul in Philippians 4:4 says, “Again I say rejoice”! Remember that underneath you undergirding your life is Jesus, He is holding you, together so grab hold of Him and allow Him to move you off of anger to the place of peace and joy and remain standing fast upon Him.
I’m saying that you can’t but I am saying that Jesus can so take a grip and stand firm. Now notice that Paul says, “Again I say rejoice”! I think Paul understood that even after we do this when people are causing us anxiety that we can begin to “slip” back into this very quickly so we will need to be resetting ourselves back into joy. Paul doesn’t say, “Well if rejoicing in the Lord doesn’t work try_____________.” Instead he says, “When you begin to slip back into anxiety, repeat the first step as often as needed!”