“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” ~Philippians 4:6
Practice what you profess. If you believe it, live it. If the Creator of heaven and earth holds you lovingly in his hands; if the Giver of good gifts and the Sustainer of life loves you so much he sent his only Son to this earth to live with us, to live as us, to take on our humanity and our sins; if Almighty God loves you and you have a righteous relationship with him through the crucified and resurrected Christ, then you have nothing to worry about! Nothing!
Except your health. Because you are getting older.
And your job. Because the economy is pretty rough right now.
And it’s OK to worry about your family. Because you are raising teenagers.
And it’s probably allright to worry about money. Because you don’t have as much as you’d like.
WRONG!
Scripture’s instruction is to be anxious about nothing. And to give everything to God in prayer. And the posture and attitude is one of thanksgiving.
But so many of us are anxious about everything. We’re so uptight about everything. We worry all the time. To what end? What’s the point?
We say God’s giving us eternal life, life abundant. We claim God’s giving us glory forever, he’s bringing to completion the good work of salvation he’s started in us. But when we worry, we’re saying we don’t believe a word of it.
Give everything to God in prayer. Everything. Your eternal salvation and your next paycheck. All your relationships and your dog’s arthritis. I’ve heard people teach that it’s wrong to bother God with little things or self-oriented requests. I don’t know where they get that. Certainly not from Scripture. Jesus and Peter and Paul say give everything to God.
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” ~Philippians 4:7
Peace,
Allan
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