Philippians 4

Paul knows about pain and suffering. He was repeatedly punished and imprisoned for his faith in Jesus Christ. Was he bitter? Did he worry? No, he praised the Lord instead. To say we can learn a lot from him is a huge understatement; we can learn volumes!

Though we may not be facing problems such as Paul faced, there are still plenty of heartaches and bad situations that we face each and every day: health problems, financial problems, relationship issues, addictions, moral dilemmas, etc. In verses 6 and 7, Paul shares with us how to face these problems and conquer them! (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 Jesus Christ.”

WOW! I say again, WOW! What a powerful message! Worry about nothing, but pray about everything, take your fears to God in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving and His peace will come and calm us down as Jesus Christ displaces the worry in our hearts.

God already knows everything about everything; He knows every hair on your head. But by taking our fears and worries to Him, it shows our faith and trust in Him. By truly trusting in the Lord, we relinquish the hold that fear and worry has on us and replace it with the confidence in God and, instead of centering on worry, we center our hearts and minds on Jesus Christ. The worry is gone, the confidence in God is utmost, and we receive His peace.

To do this we take our problems to God, place them at His feet, and LEAVE THEM THERE. Don’t pick up the worry again after you say “Amen”. Know what amen means, “SO BE IT”. Show your confidence and faith in the Lord, that when you ask Him, IT IS DONE, and you will know God’s peace “which transcends all understanding.”

Thank you dear Lord for Your word. I thank You that You love me enough to give me peace that replaces my fears and worries. I thank You Jesus that when I allow You to be the central focus in my life, all other things fade away and I can stand with confidence in my faith that You are in control and I have nothing to fear.