Today’s Reading: 1 Kings 15; 2 Chronicles 13; 2 Chronicles 14; Philippians 4
Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Observation: Anxiety is a common experience in our world today. Apparently it was common in Paul's day also. Paul presents a choice and a consequence. The choice is between being anxious or asking, between fretting and faith. We can either worry about whatever problem we are facing or we can bring it to God. The consequence? If we choose to worry, we get more worry. But the consequence of choosing to bring it to God is peace. But notice that it is not your garden-variety peace. No, God gives us His peace. It "transcends all understanding" or it is beyond figuring out.
Application: Isn't it great when you do this? When you get it and give whatever difficulty or problem to God. And there comes the sense of God's peace. The problem is still there -- but the stress is gone. Praise the Lord! Others may ask why you are not stressing about the problem but they cannot understand (unless they have previously given some problem to God). What a blessing -- what a relief it is!
Bring your problems to God. Let Him be your Burden Bearer. Rest in His everlasting arms. While there are many problems that are beyond my ability to deal with, there is no problem that He cannot bear and handle. Bring all your burdens to the Lord.
Prayer: Father, thank You for being our great Burden Bearer. How wonderful it is to have You available and accessible to help us at all times. Forgive us for all the situations where we forget to or simply choose not to bring our burdens to You. Thank You for the gift of peace that You bring to us as we surrender our stresses to You.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
2 comments:
I've always tied this verse to the renewing of my mind in Romans 12. It may seem weird, but as a Class A worrier myself, I have experienced that when I worry, my mind is continually reinforcing negative thought patterns and negative what-if's, etc. such that submitting these types of things to God is as much as a "surrendering" as it is a "renewing" of my mind to healthier, thought patterns and a more balanced approach to life (not mindlessly over-positive, but also not fearfully negative).
Worrying is a form of disobedience to God because it comes from a lack of trust that He will take care of us. Whenever we take time to "make our requests known to God with thanksgiving" we are repenting of worry and trusting Him. Then His peace guards our hearts. It protects us from destructive thoughts that tempt us to worry. Jarrod is right; controlling our thoughts is crucial to maintaining peace.
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