The Peace Of God

After encouraging the Philippians not to worry about anything and to instead pray about everything, Paul then tells them about God’s peace. He wrote:

And the peace of God,which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:7 (NIV)

When we worry, it robs our hearts and minds of God’s peace. I’ve heard it said that worrying is a lot like banging your head against a wall. It only feels better when you stop. When we put our trust in God for our daily needs, He replaces our worries with peace. Our faith in God overcomes our fears. We don’t understand this kind of peace. It goes beyond our comprehension. The situation about which we are worried hasn’t changed yet, but when we trust the Lord, our perspective changes. We have this inexplicable peace that comes from God. So whatever you’re worried about today, take it to the Lord in prayer and leave it with Him. You’ll find that He will replace your worries with His peace.

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Praying For Yourself

We worry about so many things, don’t we? We worry about our health, our finances, our kids and our stuff. We worry about the past, the present and the future. We worry about our jobs, our security and our retirements. Where does all of this worry get us? Nowhere. Paul told the Philippians to stop worrying and instead pray. Here’s what he wrote:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. – Philippians 4:6 (NIV)

We are to pray about EVERY situation that we are going through. We need to pray with thanksgiving about our lives. Whatever request we have, we should take it to the Lord in prayer. Our Heavenly Father will not turn us away. He won’t accuse us of being selfish when we pray for ourselves. Be thankful for what you have and ask God for what you need. He’s listening and He cares for you. So don’t worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything.

He Cares For You

We worry about a great many things in our lives, don’t we? We worry about our families and our kids. We worry about our bills and our budgets. We worry about our stuff. We worry about our health. We worry about so many things. Many of our worries and fears are future based. Peter said that we can take all of our worries, fears and anxieties to the Lord for a very good reason. He wrote:

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)

We can cast ALL of our worries on the Lord because He cares for us. We sometimes think that God doesn’t like us very much. We know that He loves us, but we aren’t sure if He likes us. Well, He does. He likes you and He cares for you. He can handle all of tomorrow’s cares as well as providing your daily bread. So don’t worry about tomorrow because God’s got it under control. Focus on loving God and loving people today.

Give God That One Thing

We worry about so many things and many of those worries are focused squarely on tomorrow. Jesus said that we shouldn’t worry about tomorrow, but instead we should trust God today.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. – Matthew 6:34 (NIV)

Today is going to have enough troubles as it is. So why worry about tomorrow? Let’s get through today first. Let’s walk hand in hand with our Heavenly Father today before we try and run ahead of Him for tomorrow. God is well aware of what’s going to happen tomorrow. After all, He’s already there. God isn’t bound by time and space. He’s not bound by your worries and fears, either. God will handle all of the problems and worries that you will give to Him. He’s bigger than your fears. He’s stronger than your problems. So let go of your worries and let God handle them today. Pray to Him now and tell Him that you’re giving Him that one thing you’re most worried about today.

It Will Be Provided

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” — Genesis 22:6-8 (NIV)

One of the amazing things about the story of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac is Abraham’s trust and confidence in God.  He did not know how God would provide the lamb, he just knew that God would provide the lamb.  Maybe a thousand different scenarios ran through his mind.  Maybe he had it all planned out.  “We are going to do this and then God is going to do that and then everything will be cool.”  Or maybe Abraham truly trusted God.  He didn’t keep a lookout for lambs on the way up the hill.  He simply obeyed God and trusted that when the time was right, God would provide.

What about us?  When things are tough and we are having a hard time trusting, how do we respond?  Do we worry and fret?  Jesus said not to because the Father knows what we need.  If we will seek after the things of God, His kingdom and His righteousness, we’ll have everything we need.  We need to simply trust that God will provide.  Like Abraham, we don’t need to know the how, we just need to know the will.  He will provide.

PRAYER: Help me to trust You today, O Lord. May worry be far from me as I seek Your kingdom first. You know what I need before I ever say it. Thank You for this amazing love You have for me that was expressed through Jesus on the cross. Amen.

Greed And Hoarding

Luke 12:13-21 (NIV)

The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Greed.  In the Parable of the Rich Fool, Jesus warns against it.

“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” – Luke 12:15 (NIV)

Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV):

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Notice that Paul does not say that money is the root of all evil.  He says that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.  Kyle Idleman, in his book Not A Fan, says about the rich young ruler that the problem wasn’t that he had money, but that money had him.  It is far too easy to become possessed by our possessions.  To be worried about our things instead of focusing on our faith.  Our Heavenly Father knows what we need. He will provide for us when we trust Him.  We must seek first those things that are most important – His Kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33) and He will bless us with all that we need.  Jesus is telling us today, “Don’t worry.  Don’t hoard.  Don’t store up the things of this life.  They are only temporary!”  Let us seek the things of God for then we will truly find blessings and riches beyond our wildest dreams.

PRAYER: Father, help me to focus less on material things and more on the eternal things. Help me to know that You hold all things together. I don’t want to be greedy. Instead, I want to be thankful. Thank You for all that You have provided for me. You are faithful. Amen.

Know That God Is God

Psalm 46 (NIV)

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song.

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

⁷ The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

⁸ Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

¹¹ The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

 

No matter what happens, God is God.  Look at some of the things that happen in our world from Psalm 46 (NIV):

• The earth may give way (verse 2)
• The mountains crumble and fall into the sea (verse 2)
• The seas roar and foam (verse 3)
• The mountains quake (verse 3)
• Nations are in uproar (verse 6)
• Kingdoms fall (verse 6)
• War (verse 9)

Do any of these sound familiar?  We hear of natural disasters throughout the earth.  We hear of nations falling in political turmoil?  There are wars everywhere.  Terrorism abounds.  Violence seems to be the order of the day.  The Sons of Korah say it twice, though:

The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. – Psalm 46:7, 11 (NIV)

We need to remember that God is with us.  He will not leave us.  He will not forsake His people.  Instead of freaking out, we must “Be still, and know that” He is God (Psalm 46:10, NIV).  Know that God is God.  Know that He will silence the nations and the violence.  He is our refuge and strength.  He is our help in our times of need.  He is our loving Father who patiently and gently deals with His wayward children.  Remember His deeds of the past.  Remember how He has carried you and held you and given you His peace.  No matter what you may be going through today, He is there.  Know that He is God and He loves you and cares for you deeply.

PRAYER: Help me to know that You are God today, O Lord.  Help me to be still and to stop worrying about every detail of my life.  Help me to remember that You are God and You are in control.  Thank You for your love, care and concern.  Amen.