Get It Out | Crosstraining 10.5.15

Read Philippians 4:6-7 When I know something has to get done, it weighs heavily on my mind until it’s accomplished. I’ll think about all that it will take to get it done, what will happen if it doesn’t get done, or even how I don’t want to do whatever it is. For a long time, the only way I could get things out of my head was to just complete the task. A few years ago, I discovered that, if I write out a to-do list, I can relax if I know I have everything I need to do on a list. There’s something cathartic for me to get something on paper or a list on my phone instead of having it just bouncing around in my head. This is similar to how God wants us to treat our anxiety. If we simply bottle it in, it will consume us. But, if we get it out of our head and give it to God through prayer, God can relieve our anxiety. The Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Philippian church from the confines of a dingy prison cell. His future was uncertain. If anyone had a reason to be worried or anxious, it was Paul. However, in his letter, he didn’t complain about his circumstances. Instead, he tells the people at the church of Philippi to not be anxious about anything. He dismissed his reasons for anxiety, and he was able to find peace with God. Paul told the people to do what he had done. Instead of becoming anxious or overly worried, Paul took his requests to God through prayer. From experience, he can tell his readers that, when you take your problems to God, the peace  that can only come from God will guard your heart and mind even when things don’t make sense. There are so many things that we get anxious about that can consume us. We become worried about our circumstances or our future. Often times, instead of taking things to God, we try to deal with it on our own. Instead of having God’s peace overcome us, we become overwhelmed with the problems we are facing. We can have peace when we trust God with our problems even when we don’t understand what God wants to accomplish through our hard times. Don’t allow your anxious or worried mind take over your life, but, instead, turn over your anxious and worried thoughts to God. REFLECT: In what areas of your life are you more likely to become worried or anxious? What are some practical ways you can protect yourself from becoming needlessly worried in those situations? PRAY: Talk to God today about the areas of your life that you often get worried or anxious. Ask God how to best handle those situations and to give you peace. ]]>