SCRIPTURE: Philippians (NIV) 4:6 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: These two verses go together! If I do the first, He does the second!
Here we are not only told not to be anxious, but we are given the cure for anxiety. I cannot stop thinking anxious thoughts by trying to stop them. I must actively start thinking and talking to God. In anxiety I am thinking about things I cannot change. I need to be thinking about Someone who has the power to change all things. I can thank Him for all He has done for me in the past, and all His promises. Being thankful for God’s past actions in my life builds faith for my present troubles!
I can present my requests to the One who is able to do something about them, and He is able to set His peace in my heart and mind. With His peace in my heart and mind, I do not need to understand how He will do it. I just know that it is in His care. He is trustworthy. It is His word; I am to present my requests to Him!!! I am not to present my possible answers and let Him choose the one He likes best. NO, I am to present my requests to Him. I am to trust Him to come up with the appropriate answer.
APPLICATION: My actions flow from my thoughts. Anxious thoughts often result in anxious actions. But when the “peace of God” guards my heart and mind, my actions will flow out of a heart and mind at peace! I will not be responding to the trouble in my circumstances but to the peace in my heart.
PRAYER: Lord, you are never anxious and never at a loss for what action to take. And YOU live in my heart. I have set you as my Lord. I want the peace of your presence to establish a calm in my heart and mind and actions. Amen!
Pastor Leon
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