Day 19

Our peace comes from passing the responsibility to someone bigger – God.

‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.’ (Philippians 4:6)

If someone says to you, ‘Don’t be anxious about anything,’ you might well respond by saying, ‘You live in a different world! I have bills to pay, a visit to the doctor coming up, and my boss is worried about thecompany during the recession.’ Yet this is exactly what Paul wrote to the Philippians.

The key word in this verse is the little word ‘but.’ This word acts as a hinge on which doors swing. Paul is not just saying, ‘Don’t be anxious about anything,’ he goes on to say, ‘…but in every situation by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God’ (Philippians 4:6). Get hold of your anxieties and present them to God. We can pray about things but never give them to God. We worry just as much afterwards as we did before. To do it ‘with thanksgiving’ is an expression of trust and confidence in God, to the extent we thank Him in advance for taking the issue that is the cause of my anxiety. When we do that, there is the promise, ‘And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 4:7). It is not a peacethat may solve the issue immediately but a peace that guards our hearts and minds.

Lord, I release my anxieties to You. I present them to You today.