Devotional for February 8th.
Be anxious for Nothing
"Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:6
Don't be anxious! Paul said there is nothing that should cause a child of God to worry. He was well aware of things that cause anxiety. His nation was occupied by a foreign army and ruled by corrupt leaders. He was writing from prison, where he was bring held as a result of false accusations. He was separated from those he loved; his motives had been questioned; and he had been misrepresented. Some were trying to undermine all that he had accomplished in starting churches. he suffered physically and faced imminent execution (2 Cor. 11:23-29). Yet Paul said there would never be a crisis so troubling that God could not bring peace in the midst of it!
God will not necessarily take your problems away, but He will carry the load for you. He wants you to experience His peace, which is beyond human comprehension. You will never fully understand how God could give you peace in some of the situations you face, but you do not have to understand it in order to experience it. This peace is not just for those who "handle stress well"; it is for everyone! You may know that God wants you to experience peace but wonder how this is possible, given what you are presently facing. Yet, scripture says to be anxious for nothing. God's word clearly indicates that there is nothing you can face that is too difficult, too troubling, or too fearful for God. No matter what your circumstances are, turn your anxiety over to God and let His perfect peace guard your heart.
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In February 7th's devotional it is stated that worry is sin. It is not from God and to worry means that you don't have faith in Him, that you don't believe He can handle all things. It is absolutely true that to worry is to sin, and not only to sin but to be disrespectful in every way to the one who cares for us most. I am probably more guilty of this than most people I know. I worry about everything from money to my son, to my marriage, to what to make for dinner! It's wrong of me to do this and I know it, and I think with this devotional and the one previous to it God is really working with my heart to try to coax me into peace. I have felt God's peace only a handful of times in my life, most recently during my separation from my husband. In a time when I should have been crying, should have been stressing and quite simply breaking down, I had so much peace I couldn't even fathom it. And I couldn't understand why, now I know that I had the peace that He gave me so that I could make it through such unhappy circumstances, but I long to feel that peace again.
If I could have peace in such awful times, how can I not have peace now when my marriage is intact, my husband has a job, I have a business, we have a roof over our heads, and a beautiful son. Not to mention many wonderful and understanding family and friends between the two of us. We are so blessed and so lucky to have all the amazing things we have, who on earth am I to worry? There are so many people on this planet with so many lesser things, people who have no home and do not know if tomorrow they will have something to eat much less a little extra money for spending. And many of those people worry less than I do. Many of those people have learned to trust God so wholly and completely that they stress about nothing, even in their difficult circumstances.
I have worked on forgiveness, and although I have not mastered it and am well aware that I never will, I know that I have come very far and learned much more about how to forgive and even to love those who hurt me. Now it's my time to work on peace, to stop worrying about the big things, the little things, and everything in between. Time for me to start trusting and giving my life and all its problems big and small over to my Father, the one who cares for me and can bring me through anything. Is it that time for you as well?
Be anxious for Nothing
"Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:6
Don't be anxious! Paul said there is nothing that should cause a child of God to worry. He was well aware of things that cause anxiety. His nation was occupied by a foreign army and ruled by corrupt leaders. He was writing from prison, where he was bring held as a result of false accusations. He was separated from those he loved; his motives had been questioned; and he had been misrepresented. Some were trying to undermine all that he had accomplished in starting churches. he suffered physically and faced imminent execution (2 Cor. 11:23-29). Yet Paul said there would never be a crisis so troubling that God could not bring peace in the midst of it!
God will not necessarily take your problems away, but He will carry the load for you. He wants you to experience His peace, which is beyond human comprehension. You will never fully understand how God could give you peace in some of the situations you face, but you do not have to understand it in order to experience it. This peace is not just for those who "handle stress well"; it is for everyone! You may know that God wants you to experience peace but wonder how this is possible, given what you are presently facing. Yet, scripture says to be anxious for nothing. God's word clearly indicates that there is nothing you can face that is too difficult, too troubling, or too fearful for God. No matter what your circumstances are, turn your anxiety over to God and let His perfect peace guard your heart.
***********************************************************************
In February 7th's devotional it is stated that worry is sin. It is not from God and to worry means that you don't have faith in Him, that you don't believe He can handle all things. It is absolutely true that to worry is to sin, and not only to sin but to be disrespectful in every way to the one who cares for us most. I am probably more guilty of this than most people I know. I worry about everything from money to my son, to my marriage, to what to make for dinner! It's wrong of me to do this and I know it, and I think with this devotional and the one previous to it God is really working with my heart to try to coax me into peace. I have felt God's peace only a handful of times in my life, most recently during my separation from my husband. In a time when I should have been crying, should have been stressing and quite simply breaking down, I had so much peace I couldn't even fathom it. And I couldn't understand why, now I know that I had the peace that He gave me so that I could make it through such unhappy circumstances, but I long to feel that peace again.
If I could have peace in such awful times, how can I not have peace now when my marriage is intact, my husband has a job, I have a business, we have a roof over our heads, and a beautiful son. Not to mention many wonderful and understanding family and friends between the two of us. We are so blessed and so lucky to have all the amazing things we have, who on earth am I to worry? There are so many people on this planet with so many lesser things, people who have no home and do not know if tomorrow they will have something to eat much less a little extra money for spending. And many of those people worry less than I do. Many of those people have learned to trust God so wholly and completely that they stress about nothing, even in their difficult circumstances.
I have worked on forgiveness, and although I have not mastered it and am well aware that I never will, I know that I have come very far and learned much more about how to forgive and even to love those who hurt me. Now it's my time to work on peace, to stop worrying about the big things, the little things, and everything in between. Time for me to start trusting and giving my life and all its problems big and small over to my Father, the one who cares for me and can bring me through anything. Is it that time for you as well?
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