do not be anxious...

do not be anxious about anything but in everything...by prayer and petition...with thanksgiving...present your requests to God...and the peace of God...which transcends all understanding...will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus...philippians 4:6-7

have you ever REALLY looked at this verse? i've read it so many times...heard it read so many times...recited it so many times...are you getting the picture? but this morning...i REALLY looked at the verse...

wow...

what a promise! this is a verse...that basically sums it all up...dontcha think? do not worry about ANYTHING...that means...don't worry about the car payments...the mortgage...the economy...your job...bills...or your health...whatever is in your heart and mind...bring it to the Lord in prayer and in petition AND do it with thanksgiving...

have you ever thought about the "thanksgiving" part? it is such an important part of the process...because it is the part that speaks to trust and confidence...

it's kind of like this...you take your prayer request to God...and with that...you continue to worry...basically...you are telling God..."um...Lord...thank you so much for listening to me tell you about all that is currently on my mind...the stuff that is making me kind of go crazy...i'm not sleeping much because of it...but i trust you hear me...and will help me..." sounds good so far?

but when we continue to worry....we might as well be saying..."thanks for listening God...but i'm not so sure you can help..." i believe that in our soul we sense the conflicting beliefs in that line of thinking...we believe that God is able to do what He says He will do...why then is it so difficult to rest in this promise? it clearly states...don't be anxious about anything!

i think our need for control interferes with our trust in God...at least i know it does for me...joy and control do not make good roommates...i constantly struggle with this...daily...i've always found it hard to delegate...i figure if i do something myself then i know it will be done and done the way i think it should be...this spills over into my relationship with Christ...and here is the key...the doing makes me feel as if progress is being made...but that's not necessarily so...

when i face a number of situations that lack closure...i see clearly that i have two choices...i can bring these to God and then spend the rest of the day trying to figure out how i can "make things happen"...or i can bring my requests before God's throne of grace with a prayer of thanksgiving and confidence in Him and wait in the Lord...the real difference is what happens in me after my initial prayer...if i make the first choice...i continue to worry and fret over the outcome...if i take the second route...the way by which paul (in philippians) exhorts us to live...i come to an awesome promise... "the peace of God...which transcends ALL understanding...will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus..."

wow...

what a gift...the word of God could not be clearer here...if we will relinquish control of our lives and place our trust in God with absolute confidence...the peace of God...which is beyond human understanding...will cover us...protecting our hearts and minds...

i think i'll opt for that...