Read: Hebrews 11:6
Yesterday, we looked at how you can move from stress to a quiet confidence in God’s plan for you, even in stressful situations. Let’s examine that a little more, because it’s one thing to talk about trusting in God when you’re going through something difficult in your life, how do you actually do it? Hebrews tells us that without faith it’s impossible to please God. Yet when you’re stressed, that verse almost seems to condemn you. It’s like, “Hang on, here I am, I’m stressing, I’m struggling … and that means I’m not pleasing God?” It makes the situation even worse!
As we read through the book of Philippians for a few weeks, it has probably the most important “how-to” we can learn. Are you ready? Here we go: Don’t 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 (Philippians 4:6-7). This is a promise from God through the Apostle Paul, who, by the way, was probably on death row when he wrote it down. And what God is saying here to us, through Paul, is this: Instead of worrying, pray.
Use the time that you would have spent worrying and stressing to pray instead. But not with a grumbling, unthankful heart. No. Thank God. Let Him know your problems and needs and requests, right there in the middle of your stressful situation. And when you do, God promises His peace will fill your heart, and guard your heart and your mind. His peace surpasses understanding, which means it won’t make sense to you – or anyone else – how you can have peace in such a stressful time. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to make sense. Because God’s peace is God’s peace, and I’ll take that in place of the world’s stress any day.
How about you? When we worry, we tend to think through every possible bad thing that could happen. What bad outcomes are you worrying about today? Take a moment right now, to pour your heart out to God, with thanksgiving, and let Him deliver on His promise to give you peace?
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