Philippians 4:4-7 – “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
In the face of anxiety, how are we to respond? We are to go to God with requests–all the needs and burdens of our hearts, all that is weighing on us–and with thanksgiving! When we acknowledge and dwell on God’s grace, his power, his many kindnesses to us, and his profound work on our behalf in Christ it overpowers worry and anxiety with peace. Often we take requests to God with trepidation. We approach him as if he might not be able to help and as if we don’t have a multitude of evidence that he is sovereign and good and loving. But to approach God with requests and thanksgiving is to come to him with great need and even greater awareness of who he is and what he has done. Then his peace will smother the worry.
I originally wrote this post for my church, Immanuel Nashville, in our Daily Pulse email. If you want encouragement from God’s word delivered Monday thru Friday to your inbox, I encourage you to subscribe.
