Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but 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.

What peace and comfort this verse brings to the child of God. If you go on to read vs. 8, Paul is telling us what our minds should be thinking on. If we are constantly thinking on the negative, or all the “drama” in life, we will be anxious for sure!

 Our mindset should be centered on, as the next verse states…“whatever is, true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, and praiseworthy”.  All these attributes describe our precious Lord and Savior, don’t they?  We are going to go through struggles in this life, but we have the power through the indwelling Holy Spirit to go through the hard times with grace, peace, composure, and even joy when we fully understand that God is in control and that nothing can touch us that He doesn’t allow.  Psalm 138:8 says that “the Lord will perfect that which concerns me”, so when anxiousness starts to creep into our hearts we can rest assured that God has it all under His watchful care because He loves us so!

I think the biggest issue with being anxious, for me at least, is I tend to be a planner.  I like to figure everything out and then make a plan and execute that plan to fruition. I know….I can hear the chuckles from God.  He has been trying to teach me my whole entire life to be flexible and I can proudly say I am better than I was 10yrs ago, but I certainly have not “arrived” at where I need to be.

No one will ever fully understand the mind of God, if we could then we would be God.  This is where the trust comes into play, we either trust that God knows what He is doing and is in control of our paths in life, or we don’t.  If we are being nervous and anxious all the time, then there is clearly a trust issue and we need to get before God in prayer and dive  into every Scripture we can find on trusting God.  Verses like Proverbs 3:5-6...Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.  When we are experiencing tough times in this life, these verses are so encouraging to our souls.  God gives us a peace that passes understanding, even in the middle of chaotic lives, and for that I am so very thankful!

Thank You Jesus for coming to this earth and shedding your blood for the forgiveness of my sins, thank You for the peace and joy that You bring to my heart, and for Your care and keeping of me through the hardships that come about in this life. I love You my Savior and I offer You my thanksgiving and praise today, Amen!!