Trading Anxiety for Peace and Joy

"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 4:5-7

For the past week or so, I've been anxious. You see, November 21st was my last day of work. My job was not working out for several reasons and after prayer and talking with my husband, we decided it would be best to leave that position. I was excited about some new possibilities and eager to be home and explore those possibilities. So, what have I done since being home?  I've been anxious. Not worried, but anxious to get things going to find my direction, my new enterprise and to delve into it wholeheartedly.

The problem is...was...that I had no idea what I wanted to do. I prayed about it - have been praying about it - but have not yet received any direction. That's when I let anxiety creep in.

What if I had made a mistake in quitting my job? What if I didn't find something to bring in some money to help pay the bills? What if my life slipped back into the state it was in before I found that job? I had been anxious, constantly scrambling for ways to make money, to validate myself, to feel like I had a purpose. I didn't - don't - want to go back to that, and yet, I could feel myself slipping right back into it. Until this morning...

God, in his awesome faithfulness opened my eyes this morning to realize that every minute I spend in anxiety is a waste of the day that He has given me NOW. This is the day that the Lord has made and I should rejoice and be glad in it, not be anxious in it. Anxiety steals your joy and God wants me to live a joyous life. I dug further into my Bible, then read a few pages in one of my journals where I had recorded some powerful truths about praying in faith and through that portion of time I spent with God this morning, He lifted the anxiety.

Today, I will be joyful, I am trusting God to lead me in the direction He wants me to go in this next stage of my life and I am trusting Him to provide for our needs in whatever way He chooses. I'm open to His will and I'm refusing to be anxious. And, yes, I feel His peace. Just as He promised. When we lay anxiety aside, we receive His peace.

Prayer: Thank you, Heavenly Father, for your peace that passes all understanding. My circumstances haven't changed, but my heart and mind have. You have taken away the anxiety and replaced it with peace and joy. What a wonder you are!

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(Copyright© 2012 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

Don't be anxious about anything!

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 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." Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

My friend is a worrier. In fact she is so good at it, she could be called a professional worrier.  When faced with a difficult situation or a potential problem, she can think of every bad scenario that could possibly happen.

She hears about a disagreement between two people and she imagines them fist fighting, breaking up, divorcing, never speaking to one another again.  She hears about someone who is struggling financially and she can picture them losing everything they own, walking the streets in rags and begging for food. She learns about someone with an illness and she imagines that they have contracted a deadly disease and will surely die.

All this imagining makes her a nervous wreck. She loses sleep, cries over it and is anxious on a regular basis.

The funny thing is that my friend is a believer...or maybe it's not so funny, because as believers, we are supposed to trust God to care for us.  We have been promised that when we pray, God hears us and that we can have what we ask.

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him."  1 John 5:14:-15  (NIV)

My friend would be so much better off if she would just take a minute to pray, with confidence that God would intercede in each situation as it arises, then relax, knowing that He has heard her prayers and that He is at work in the circumstances. Then she would be filled with the peace of God, which transcends all understanding.

That's much better than worrying and imagining and fretting and losing sleep and...and...(I could go on and on.)

Prayer:
Lord, teach us to turn to you with every concern of our heart. Teach us not to be anxious, but to come confidently to you, knowing that you hear us and that as we ask according to your will, we can be assured that we will have the things we ask of you. Help us to know your will and to examine our prayers so that they line up with your will, then, Lord, help us to relax and trust that you will take care of things. Fill us with your peace. In Jesus' Name, Amen

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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)