Philippians 4:6…
Do not be anxious about anything,(H) but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.(I) 7 And the peace of God,(J) which transcends all understanding,(K) will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
It has been cooking, simmering, sizzling, permeating, marinating in my heart for days and weeks now, and everyday I need it, everyday sometimes several times a day i’m faced with the fact that I sin in the very way it says not to. I find myself trying to convey its profound effect on me. It is as powerful as an unstoppable force, like a hurricane, it has driven me to a deeper, or just more profound experience with God the Father.
I asked myself tonight again for the millioneth time, as God reveals new things to my heart and my mind I tend to ask….”so what’s the meaning of life, then?” at first I said that same old answer, ” Go to heaven and take as many people as I can with me”….but that’s not it, those are certain important elements, but what i’ve been deeply seared with is this, “the Father, to please the Father, to know and to do His will.” It might sound simple but to me it is a perfect spring of water quenching my thirsty soul
It’s like my relationship with my own son, whenever he gets the desire to go outside, we’ve been teaching him that before he even APPROACHES the door, he is to come to us, stop and look at mommy or daddy and ask, “may I go outside?” It is almost ridiculous how small a thing, but it is absolutely important for him to not walk out when he wants to….the other important note is that he is just 3 years old. (sidenote: that actually happened to one of my neighbors not too long ago, thankfully the child was returned to her family and we got to play a big role in that, but I walked away in deep sadness for only a moment’s toying with the “what if….” but then back to the Thank you God that there were no what if’s scenarios to be played out that night. That family could breath that sigh of absolute relief that their child was back in their care. That night I all the more mad sure to train my son, and it pleases me and his daddy to no end when he does that, I think of all the wonderful things he is learning through simple obedience. I think the Father delights in little things like that, when we look to Him before we get up and start the million things on our lists. Oh how wonderful to see His smile on me for simple obedience!
Knowing the Father, asking Him to reveal His will for me each day, moment by moment is no simple task. It wasn’t until this verse challenged my very soul with the simple truth that I am so profusely anxious and worried about EVERYTHING! On the surface not many acquaintances would know it, and only close friends would suspect it, best friends know me and know this is true before I know it is true. Perhaps others see it too, but best friends tell me, pray for me, walk with me to trusting my Father again.
I am amazed at how practicing this simple command, “…but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving…” can transform.
It is so hard to stay in an anxious state of mind and find something to thank God about, or for, it’s transforming…you have to move from worry to trust if your heart is going to be thankful….
another thought that is diving deep is the idea of gratitude….man, i’m pretty ungrateful….the challenge to die to self and let Christ live in me means that in everything the “me” has to be able to give thanks….IN EVERY SITUATION….overcoming the fear, the worry, the missed “God moments” opportunity in my anxious heart is in the end a dying to self, and appropriating “we have the mind of Christ”, or “walking by the Spirit”.
It is a profound test of the trust quotient…It’s far to easy to say, “I trust in God for ….(fill in the blank)” I have found that it is in the smaller daily sometimes moment by moment decisions that cause me to be the most anxious. Big things are almost easier to just trust because they feel more impossible, but its the things that i THINK I CAN DO like open a door to go outside for a 3 year old, that He would want me to ask Him about.
I constantly think about Joshua and Ai. He got a little cocky, and took for granted that God would always have his back in the same way he did for every battle that Joshua talked to God about BEFORE he went charging full steam ahead. It’s that relationship with the Father that is key, not winning battles, not checking off a list….(i’m even thinking how this is more important than what i do IN life….but that’s another blog for another day…I’m telling ya this verse is just tearing me up for the better I believe)
But here is my other conclusion….this is where I am today, I like many of you are on a journey with the Father through the Son by the power of His Spirit and He is guiding you into truths that you are ready for and perhaps i’m not ready for them yet…I can definately say that Phil 4:6 was not a new verse for me but rather it was the “umpteenth” time i’ve read it, but through my new quiet time format, if you will…(another blog), it has changed me. God is changing my understanding of my relationship with Him.
profoundly appreciating my Father-daughter relationship today…
