Philippians 4:6-7

Philippians 4:6-7
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

This is my go to verse on worry. I have it memorized. I don't have to look it up. But do I live it out? Not exactly...

This verse says that I am to be anxious for NOTHING...for No Thing...Nada...Zilch. I mean is this even possible? There are so many things to worry about on any given day, things like health issues, financial issues, job issues, marriage issues, balancing it all issues, and don't even get me started on my kids. God says that I am supposed to bring every single thing to Him in prayer. I am to bring the big things and the little things and lay them down at His feet in prayer. I have to continually pray about all the issues that run through my brain, reminding myself to hand them over to God with an attitude of thanksgiving...regardless of the outcome. I have to admit, I have the prayer part down. But that is only half the battle. I take lots of things to God in prayer, but the "leaving them there" part is what I struggle with.

I have to admit, thus far in my life, most of the things that I have worried about have never happened. All my worries have accomplished in my life is heartache for me....you know, lost sleep, lack of enjoyment in the moment, many upset stomachs, and a complete lack of peace. My worrying has never fixed anything, nor has it accomplished anything positive in my life.

God tells me in these verses that I can have complete peace when I bring every single thing to Him in prayer. For me, this is going to mean taking every thought captive (2 Cor. 10:5) and making it obedient to the Word of God. I have to constantly acknowledge that God is good....that He sees me....that everything that touches my life has been filtered through a sovereign God who never leaves my side. When my brain starts to worry about something, I have to stop my thoughts and ask God to remove that line of thinking, replacing it with His truth instead. When I do that, He promises peace...peace that surpasses my understanding. The peace that He provides will continually guard my heart and my mind. I love that promise and I desperately want to live it out. I am so tired of worry robbing me of living life in the moment.

The notes in my Life Application Bible say that to worry less, one has to pray more. At the moment you start to worry, pray instead. This is what it means in 1 Thess. 5:17 when it calls us to pray without ceasing. All through the day, we have to pray sentence prayers up to God instead of worrying.

Phil. 4:6-7 can be summarized like this...Anxious in nothing, prayerful in everything, and thankful for anything.

Is this possible?
Yes, it is!

Until next time...