4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 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 Christ Jesus.
As I read verses 4 and 5 I sensed the urgency in Paul's words to live as if Jesus was to return tomorrow. It made me reflect and repent on how little I do rejoice in the Lord daily and that my days do not reflect a sense of urgency as it should.
Verses 6 and 7 are some of my favorite verses in all of scripture. I have found them to be very true in my own life. I have really held God to the promise of these verses during my most difficult times and God has never failed to deliver that peace that transcends all understanding when I have given my worries to the Lord. Not that God has answered every prayer the way I wanted but the burden and the anxiety is almost immediately lifted as I lift it up to the Lord and trust that he is in control. It is a wonderful, wonderful feeling of peace.
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3 comments:
Christine, thank you for sharing your assurance in the wonderful peace of God. These verses tells us not to worry about ANYTHING and lift EVERYTHING to God in prayer. This part alone should release us of our anxieties if we had the faith to lean on it. Thanks for sharing how God has proven to be true to His words. May we all strive to trust Him and all His promises.
thanks christine for such a moving reflection today. i think the power of the christian life is found in these precious verses. paul's antidote to the anxiety that plagues us in our daily lives is "prayer and petition". even BEFORE the petition--the "asking for"--we are exhorted to "pray". that means we are to worship God and spend time in His presence FIRST, THEN we are to "present our requests to God".
when we come into the presence of the living God first and worship Him, and we get a sense of who He is, and we remember all the grace and mercy and favor He has shown us, whatever difficulties we are encountering get "cut down" to size. if we do this first, and we ask and "petition" Him in faith, we experience a supernaturasl peace and assurance that He has heard our prayer and is truly in control of all things.
but more often than not, we simply rush into God's presence and ask for relief from our circumstances. this is NOT prayer the way that the Bible defines it. we find when we do this that we never experience peace--only more anxiety and worry as soon as the prayer is finished--and no assurance at all.
when we have genuine communion and fellowship with God our Father through Jesus Christ, we can entrust our cares and our very lives to Him. i thank God so much for the peace i have known in those moments when i have followed this pattern of prayer. the peace that follows is impossible to describe--it is supernatural; it is "other-worldly", and there is a conviction within me that i can accept and thank Him in advance for WHATEVER outcome He deems best for me.
His peace truly "transcends all understanding" and is precious beyond measure.
thanks for your post christine :-)
this passage definitely gives you great peace and confidence in the God, rather than ourselves. another great reminder to us all.
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