Peace Over Worry
By: Kellye Smith
“Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
There is rarely a day that goes by that worries don’t pop into my mind out of the blue. As a mom of three children, I often catch myself ruminating on their future. Am I doing enough as their mom? Will this come up in therapy one day? Then there’s work. Bills. Do we choose to live life now delaying long-term security for the memories we’d make with a short-term thrill? Are we saving enough? Was my tone weird to that person? It’s really incredible how one single thought can devolve into this cycle of worry and fear.
What I have found to be the hardest lesson as a Christian is the undoing of what I’ve been told by well-intentioned people. Messages get muddy and people pass along these lessons that end up sticking as if they were told by Jesus Himself. There’s a lie that if you pray hard enough for something, God will give it to you. After all, doesn’t He promise to give you the desires of your heart? If we pray hard enough, our worry will dissolve because God will work it out in our favor. After all, doesn’t He promise that He will give good gifts to His children? It’s taken some living through difficult seasons to learn that the gifts God gives His children and the desires of our heart turn out to have nothing to do with the temporal comforts we’re often praying to receive. Sometimes we do get exactly what we prayed for, but sometimes the healing doesn’t come and our perceived need doesn’t get met in the way we think it should.
If you aren’t careful in your reflection on Philippians 4:6-7, you’ll miss it. Scripture never promises that your worry will go away because God will work it out just like you told Him. It does promise an incredible peace that surpasses all understanding, which is a pretty powerful tonic over worry. When I sit in God’s incredible peace, it’s there I see the walls could completely crumble, but I find joy unspeakable because I have Him.
Can I remind you that God knows exactly what’s going on in your life? He isn’t shocked at anything that’s going on in the world today. Read through the Old Testament enough times and our culture today is pretty tame in comparison. I don’t know about you, but when I take my worries to God, place them at His feet and take a minute to consider who He is, asking myself if I trust Him, something happens in my heart. He really does instill a powerful peace that helps me remember that no matter how the situation I’m worried about works out, it will all be okay because He is still Lord of my life and I still have an eternity with Him to focus on. Before you let the worry train leave the station, make a choice to submit to Him first. God is still on the throne. Today, tomorrow, until the end of time.
Reflection Questions
What’s causing you to worry right now, and what’s in the way of you giving that worry to God?
How has God proven to be in the very middle of your struggles? Will you trust Him to bring you through again?
Consider your prayer habits. Are your prayers selfish or do you pray with the willingness to be obedient and accept the Lord’s will? How does your prayer life need to change in order to submit your worry to God?