“Don’t be anxious about anything”

Read: Philippians 4:4-7

Reflect: We surely understand peace, don’t we? The apostle Paul’s statement that God’s peace “exceeds all understanding” may make more sense when we realize that he sent this letter from a dank, dreary Roman prison cell (cf. Philippians 1:12-14). Even there, he had God’s peace. And he shared a key he’d found for living in God’s peace: to take anything that might worry him and give it to God in prayer.

• Paul advised, “Don’t be anxious about anything.” Almost as if he heard us saying, “How?” he added, “rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks” (verse 6). What are some things that trigger ugly, anxiety-producing thoughts in you? How can you incorporate Paul’s wisdom about taking those things to God in prayer more fully into your daily life?

• Paul, at peace even in prison, did not say, “I sure was lucky to be born with a peaceful temperament.” Instead, in Philippians 4:11, he said, “I have learned how to be content in any circumstance.” Under what conditions, good or bad, do you find it a struggle to remain in God’s peace? What experiences or examples have helped you learn to make choices or take actions that lead you toward accepting God’s gift of peace?

Pray: Lord Jesus, I want to turn my worries into prayers. I lay before you all the things that worry me today, and I open my heart to your gifts of peace and contentment. Amen.