“Do not worry 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.” (Phillippians 4:6-7)
In this passage, God gives us a command to not be anxious! Therefore every time we are anxious about life we are sinning against God. Let that sink in for a second. Instead of us truly trusting God’s promises, we doubt God’s abilities or we doubt that God cares for us simply because we are going through a rough time. It sounds silly, but we sometimes doubt the creator of the world. We have all been guilty of doing this all too often.
What should we do to shed our anxiousness? Well, God tells us that we should pray. We should pray to God with thanksgiving and make our request known to Him. If we are Stressed out, Pray! If you are Anxious, Pray! If you are Worried, Pray! Our problems look so big because we have taken our focus off God and put all the focus on our problem. God is bigger than anything we can experience in our lives. He’s our provider, our healer, our shelter, our everything. We need to remember where we should focus.
Lastly, let it go! This has to be the most difficult and challenging thing to do in life.
“Let go and let God.” Once you have prayed and asked God for help, let go of it and leave it in God’s hands. The verse goes on to explain that the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. I experience peace, once I have given my problem or concern to God. That is like no other peace because I am no longer dwelling on the issue. When you let it go, you have to give it to God completely. Our focus can no longer be on the trial but on Jesus. The feeling of peace that follows, knowing and believing that God is in control and will work it out all for His glory, is priceless.
So when life’s trials seem to knock you down, and you feel doubt, anxiety, worry and stress creep up on you, just “breathe”, “pray” and “let it go”. Remember all the times in the past God saw you through a dark time. This verse will help us go through tough times and trials with grace and faith.
“BREATHE, PRAY, LET IT GO!”
“I don’t know how, but I know WHO!”
Grace and Peace, Pastor Nelda
Reverend Dr. Nelda Barrett Murraine is pastor at First United Methodist Church – PO Box 146 – 229 W 4th St. Kennedale, TX 76060 https://www.facebook.com/KennedaleFUMC/
