Day 351.
do not be anxious about anything, 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6, 7 ESV)
There were days toward the end of my graduate studies that I sat in my basement to study and found myself drifting off to sleep. In that state of mind between sleep and awake I would grow terribly anxious. What would I do? My wife was pregnant with our first child and everything was needing to change. How would I take care of them? This verse speaks to times just like this. God is involved in the little things in life as he cares for you.
He does not say that God will keep difficulties and hardships away. Paul just wrote about times when he was in want. But in those times God will not fail us. In fact, it was perhaps those very times in which Paul found God that much more his treasure. This is why he can give thanks to God even when his own expectations and plans go unfulfilled. It is the realization that God has a better one. He will see your sanctification through to the end. He has your life under control. Knowing and resting in this, brings a peace that simply makes no sense to the watching world.
Lord, thank you for even the things that cause me to worry. How will I help my children with college? How will I lead our church to unity and love for one another? How will I lead people to engage more intentionally in evangelism? How can I possibly meet everyone’s expectations of me? These things cause me anxiety and so I turn them over to you. Please help me, lord! Thank you for this opportunity to see you do what I cannot and so be reminded of your care for me. Guard my heart a and mind so that I do not lose patience or react harshly to those around me. Instead, let me know your peace.
