Philippians 4:6-7
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers (Philippians 4:6, TLB).

To be anxious is to be worried, concerned or apprehensive. It is to worry about what  has not yet happened that we anticipate will happen. Yet, being anxious has not helped anyone.

This year if you want to add color to your life and be focused on maintaining the joy that you have, you have to refrain from worry. You have to learn to cast your cares on the Lord and trust Him to do His part.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon writes: “Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength”.  I know we do not want that to happen to us. When you lose today’s strength you will be unable to achieve what you need to achieve. Yet, tomorrow’s concerns are waiting for you. When tomorrow comes you will have double challenges to face.

That is why Alice Caldwell Rice writes, “It ain’t no use putting up your umbrella till it rains”. That is, if there is no rain why do you need the umbrella? If troubles have not come why do we have to worry about it? Jesus said, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34).

May the Lord help us to learn to pray about everything rather than being anxious. Shalom.

Your Turn

• Thank God for being our hiding place in the time of  trouble.
• Tell Him about your recent concerns.

Song:  Jesus the rock, the rock of God.

Further Reading: 1 Peter 5:7.