I love the Bible. I love the truth it holds, I love the promises that God offers to us as we follow His instructions, I truly truly do. But I have to say, one of the most read verses in God's infallible Word is one of the most difficult verses for me to follow.
Good old Philippians 4 says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
The Bible talks a lot about worry; Jesus tells us in Matthew not to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. But honestly, it's not worry about tomorrow that holds me, I'm pretty good with tomorrow. I can give God my fears of the future as He has walked with me many, many years to get me to a place of ability to do that. So it's not tomorrow that causes me worry, it's today. It's problems that loved ones face today. It's issues that friends face today. It's anything that I need to work through today. It's worry that rears its ugly head...today.
So I'll share something with you that God shared with me last night; I figure if God helped me with it, perhaps it can help someone else too.
Last night I had a conversation with my husband that got me thinking about this subject in a way I had not thought of it before; it really challenged me to take a look at what my worry was doing in a larger scope than I was seeing. Why does he always have to be right? Good thing he's handsome...
So anyhow, as I laid in bed I was pondering what we had talked about as the truth of the matter was slowly sinking in and I could feel freedom rising in my heart! You see, I had been worrying about a situation that I really can't control, as is most generally the case with worry isn't it? And as I was lying there I was talking to the Lord, as I do at night on my way to sleep. But I found myself saying the phrase of a song to Him: You are Great, you do miracles so great! And all of a sudden I felt God stop me and ask me this question: "Do you believe that?"
Well of course I do Lord, I absolutely know you can do miracles that are so great. Yes, yes I believe that.
"Then let Me do it."
Then let me do it. That was God's reply to my Spirit and boy that sure got my attention. As long as I'm worrying over a situation, I'm not giving God room to move in the situation. As long as I'm controlling the situation, attempting to fix it in my strength and power, I imagine God just waiting for me to finish doing what I think is best so that He can get involved and do what's really really the best.
So today I share this very personal thing with anyone that will read it because I know the obsessive thoughts that come with worry. I know what it's like to hold stuff in my mind so tightly, not giving God room to move and perform that great miracle that He is simply waiting to do. I know what worry feels like...that's why Philippians 4 is a scripture we need to do more than just read, we need to digest it, we need to rehearse it, we need to obsess over it.
It brings tears to my eyes right now to think of the goodness of God displayed in that scripture. That if I will not be anxious over ANYTHING, but if I will give my worry over to Him in prayer, thanking Him for the outcome and LEAVING the worry within that request, I'm guaranteed the peace of God to wash over every area of my own understanding...and then He goes above what I can comprehend. That's why He is the only one that truly can do miracles that are so great. If I could understand His ways, they would not be great.
So today, I'm not going to worry. I'm not going to be anxious. I'm going to take the issues and present them to God as a request for Him to intervene. I'm going to thank Him for the outcome. And then I'm going to leave it alone. I'm not going to give the worry a permanent parking place in my mind for today. I'm going to get out of the way and "let God do it." That old song comes to mind, "no parking baby, no parking on the dance floor." No parking! God's trying to dance in our situation, let's get worry out of the way...
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