"4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4:4-9
This is one of those days where I have trouble coming into a time of communion with God. One of those days where I'm just not feeling it. I have a hard time quieting down and allowing God to speak. However, God is teaching me this year that on these days, when it is easy for me to ignore Him and slip into my own world, my own thoughts, I need to continue to spend time with Him, in spite of how I feel. I wrote all of Philippians 4:4-9, but I am going to focus on verses 6-7.
When I'm frustrated with stuff I tend to shut down and run. God being in my rearview mirror. This is a strange phenomenom to me and something I struggle with mightily. Anxiety in my life leads to complacency. God's word says: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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." The problem that I come across is stopping at the but. I don't want to be anxious about anything, however when I become anxious I ignore the but. Therefore, I miss out on peace.
Everyone in this world wants peace. It doesn't matter what you believe or what you're associated with, deep down there is a longing for peace. It's why we run to so many different things that make us feel good. In the inner most part of our being we are programmed for peace. Anxiety, however, does not go away no matter how much we seek "peace". You see, peace is not some out there concept or some fleeting feeling, but a consistant communion with God. "In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." When we are struggling with life and anxiety is creeping in around us God is saying: "Talk to me, I understand". He is begging us to come to Him. What I struggle with more than anything is that I don't want to come. I have hardwired myself to be "self-sufficient" to do it on my own and I walk away from the "peace of God, which transcends all understanding." ALL UNDERSTANDING! Are you kidding me?!
The most ridiculous mis-conception in this world is to seek peace apart from God. It just isn't going to happen. It's not there. I can fill myself with anything and everything, but it won't be peace. When anxiety comes, I can run to whatever makes me feel good, but it won't produce peace, it'll just mask the problem. Even if I face what I'm anxious about and deal with it in a healthy way, there will still be a missing link, I guarantee it. Peace can only come from God. He is asking to carry our burdens, He wants to help. He, not only promises His peace to us if we come to Him, but says: "the peace of God...will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." His peace is protection, it will guard us and shield us.
I know this has been a little bit of a rant...it's late at night and I'm writing this one out of an anxious and frustrated soul...but let me end with this to help you understand what I mean about protection. Speaking to my first and second paragraph. When I get anxious, especially lately, I run from God and I tend to shut down, I'm not very motivated and for lack of a better word I get depressed. In about a week I am going to start my teaching career and for the past couple of days I have grown extremely anxious and in turn have watched and read things about sports. These are things that I go to to feel better, to ignore what's going on, it's my way of coping, but it aids in the process of me 'shutting down'. I say this to explain what would be the opposite and to speak to myself and you, if you are anxious and struggling, don't turn to the same things you have before instead, "by prayer and petition present your requests to God", because His peace will "guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" trust me. The peace of God, in this time of anxiety for me, doesn't allow me to believe the lies that target my insecurities with my new job, his peace tells me to trust Him, to trust the gifts He's given me, and to let Him guide me. In other words, His peace protects me. We all have insecurities and ways we cope with stuff, it's human nature. But, the peace of God doesn't agree with human nature, or even what we can comprehend...it transcends all understanding. It's time to choose true peace.
