Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer
and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts
and minds through Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4.6-7
I know this
verse well because it is one that I find myself constantly needing to apply to
my life. It is one that after 40 years of salvation I still find a challange.
'Be careful
for nothing' the King James translated this verse. This is one of those places
where I wish we English speakers had held on to an old word. The newer
translations have things like 'be anxious for nothing' or 'don't worry about
anything' but I really like the old meaning of 'careful.' When I use it down I
usually hyphenate it this way - 'be care-ful for nothing.' It simply means don't
be full of cares.
That seems
like a pretty basic lesson. The Bible says elsewhere that we should cast all our
cares upon Christ because He is already caring about us and He is a lot more
careful carer that I am. Jesus tells us to cast our burdens on Him.
So why am I
full of cares?
This verse
seems to say that I am care-ful because I am not thankful. When I am thankful I
am acknowledging the great God who meets my needs and I am trusting Him with
the results.
So the key
to not being care-ful is praying in faith and submission and doing so with a
thankful spirit.
And what is
the result when we commit our cares to him and pray with thanksgiving?
The peace
of God that passes all human understanding will guard our hearts and minds.
That peace is so precious and it is so available. All I really have to do is get
myself out of the way and stop trying to think that I can sort these things out
on my own.
God is love
and He loves us. He wants our worries and cares and burdens. Why do we persist
in carrying them around with us?
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