Look Up, Rejoice and Be Thankful!

Philippians 4:4-9

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (NIV 1984)

            This morning I went outside on the deck to spend an extended time with the Lord. This week has been a bit challenging and unfortunately my quiet time has suffered. I’ve only found brief times here and there to get into God’s Word. I’ve spent lots of time praying, but not a lot of time listening and not nearly enough time in His Word. My heart is feeling the results of this. The last couple of days I’ve been “anxious” about many things. Forgive me for my honesty. It’s just who I am. Last night when I lay in bed asking God to give me a Scripture, or some word of encouragement, there was silence. So, I quietly clicked on my phone and went to my Scripture memory app and looked at this week’s verse. I read it over and over, but it didn’t seem to replace the anxious thoughts in my mind. I put down my phone and thankfully, after praying, God’s peace washed over me enough that I was able to drift off to sleep.

            This morning, when I awoke, I asked Him again for His peace and for some word of encouragement. I headed outside and sat down to study. It was peaceful and quiet. The tadpoles swam quietly next to me in the green, slimy pond on our deck, the humming birds fluttered by to the feeder and four o’clocks, and the beautiful butterflies busily worked each bloom of the colorful Lantana. But in spite of the peacefulness around me, my heart remained anxious. I was not sure where to start, so I started with two of my favorite devotions. (Praying God’s Word Daily, by Beth Moore and Jesus Calling by Sarah Young) That was a good place to start, but I needed more. I hungered to hear from my Father. I was starving for His Words to my heart.

            As I opened my electronic Bible, I was reminded of some of my favorite life verses. I use to read these particular verses every single day. But it had been a while. I did not even need to read them, they are written on my heart. But I did. There on the screen the Holy Spirit reminded me once again to cast my anxious thoughts to the Lord, not be anxious, but rather to be thankful, to take my every concern, hurt and joy to Him, the One who cares the most about me and those I care about. These verses also reminded me to think about  what is noble, right, true, pure, praiseworthy..., and finally to put into practice what I have seen, heard and learned. Wow! All of that in just six little verses!

           Well, there is one more thing that really blessed me this morning from these verses. I believe that it is a promise from our loving God. Right in the middle of these wonderful words, it says that if we bring our concerns to the Lord, “with thanksgiving”, that His peace will come to us. And not only will His peace be with us, but it “will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Well, I don’t know about you, but I needed that reminder this morning. Although none of the things I am anxious about have changed, one thing has, my mindset. I can get up from my time with the Lord and know that if I take these concerns to Him with a thankful heart, He will allow His peace to wash over me and guard my heart and mind. I need that desperately today. I AM thankful. I pray that as I try to relax in Him now, that my thoughts will focus more on Him and less on my worries and concerns. I pray that trust will displace anxiety in my heart and mind. I pray that my heart will remain thankful throughout today and every day. I pray that rather than dwell on my own worries, I will entrust them to Him and spend that time praying for others instead. He will be faithful to hear my concerns and answer them I know. He will do the same for you. I hope that somehow these words have encouraged you. God bless you and thanks for reading!