Philippians 4:6-9,  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.

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy ~ meditate on the things.  The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

For so many people right now, I know peace is the last thing they are feeling.  I don’t know of anyone that doesn’t have something going on in their life that at times overwhelms them.  Heartaches, illnesses, children, governments, schools, jobs, divorce, loneliness, fear, and the list goes on and on.  Sometimes you may feel as though you barely get up from one attack and you get run over with something else.  As a result anxiety has become a huge issue in the lives of countless people.  I am not about to tell you that it’s just all in your head and if you just…., then it will all disappear because anxiety is often a physical issue and it takes time to heal.  Chronic Anxiety often sets in after you have faced overwhelming stress over and over until you seem to get stuck in flight or fight mode and it is very real and not something that can be just stuffed, but there are some things we can do as Christians to help us prevent getting to that point and can also be helpful getting us out of it over time.  

As we all know, but sometimes have difficulty implementing, our thoughts and words make a huge difference in our lives.  I love the fact that Paul didn’t just stop with “Be anxious for nothing…”. He didn’t just say, “Get over it! Get it together!” He told the Philippians how work on it.  Let’s break it down a bit because this is helpful for all of us whether we struggle with anxiety or not because the world is upside down and crazy, we need to be intentional in this:

1. “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;”   Prayer is such a huge asset that we too often take way too lightly.  The words, “All I can do is pray” should never be said as though there’s no hope. It should be said with the confidence that if there’s nothing you can do then you can have all the confidence in the world that He will do what is best and right for that situation if you give it all to Him, and you can trust Him!  Thankfulness, once you start praising God and thanking Him as you pray for who He is and His faithfulness, faith will begin to rise up and give you the confidence you need to leave it with God and trust Him.
2. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understandings will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  God promises to give us peace no matter what the circumstances are but you must take those things to Him and rest in Him.  God’s peace is not forced on us, it is something we must be willing to fill our hearts and minds.  If you insist on hanging on to what is going wrong or how you have been wronged, wanting to just wallow there for a bit, then God’s peace isn’t going to take over.  Ask Him to help you let it go and help you to trust Him.  The “what if’s” from satan that keep peace at bay. It’s the understanding of who God is and His love for you and everyone you love that will give you His peace.

So, how can you get to that point, where no matter what may come, you trust Him and have His peace?  Set your mind to spend time every day with Him getting to know Him more and then make sure to also take every thought from satan captive and follow Paul’s example:  “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy ~ meditate on the things.  The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”

My prayer for all of us today:  

“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.”  Numbers 6:24-26