Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NLT
In your opinion and experience, what’s the hardest, most impossible instruction you have tried to follow so far in your spiritual life? There are quite a few to choose from. There’s the command to forgive others as God has forgiven me, the one to turn the other cheek when I have been mistreated, then one to pray for my enemies, and more. None of those are easy; all of them are challenging. All of them defy our natural inclinations.
As we grow spiritually and Jesus transforms us from the inside out, some things that once were quite hard for us to do become more a part of our nature. For me, I forgive and turn the other cheek much more easily than I used to. I don’t hold grudges. I can pretty quickly move past a hurt or injury. But the area for my personality and personal make-up that seems most impossible is this instruction: “Don’t worry about anything.” I can worry about anything and everything. I know how to take something very small and wrestle with it like it was threatening my life.
But I am a recovering worrier. Like many of my friends who have had chemical or alcohol addictions, I recognize that worry could overtake me again and creep back into my life any time I let my guard down. So, I don’t say I AM recovered. I am recovering. I am walking in victory over worry as long as I follow God’s path away from worry to peace.
It goes like this: Identify the issue, then deliberately choose to NOT worry. Decide to pray about it instead. Tell God exactly what you need: peace, assurance, wisdom, clarity – whatever it is. If you need resources and a solution, tell Him that too. And tell Him you choose to trust Him with however and whenever He chooses to meet your needs. Open your heart in expectation to receive God’s peace. As you do, moment by moment continue to live in complete obedience to Jesus. You will win over worry and walk the path to peace. I’m experiencing it. You will too.
- Praying instead of worrying is one of the most unnatural and challenging choices in life … to start. But every time we take one step, God takes two. He will help you. Each time worry knocks on your door and is turned away by prayer, your trust gets stronger. It becomes your way of peace and life. When you moment by moment choose to trust in God, worry may pick a fight with you, but it doesn’t win.