“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 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 comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
Philippians 4-9 NASB
Life’s anxieties and overwhelming feelings oftentimes overshadow the big picture. Preparing for events, new adventures, or a change in life can bring too much focus on the uncharted waters and take away from what brought you there in the first place.
God can put you in unimaginable circumstances that can cause an immense amount of stress on you and others around you. But pulling focus from God in those times can lead you through even more hardship.
Recovering from the stress of the stress is sometimes more stressful than the original. Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians about not being anxious for anything, but through thankful, thoughtful, humble prayer and supplication God can deliver an inexplicable peace that can protect you from the stress. Or at least ease your mind to the point where it feels better.
The thought of God being so powerful, but at the same time so caring, to bring peace to a situation that you made more worrisome, can be comforting and maybe a little scary at the same time. It’s comforting to know that He will take care of you; scary to think of the sovereignty He has over your life and how often you take that for granted.
Paul also says in Philippians 4 to focus on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent, or worthy of praise. Take time to think about what is good and going right. Yes, you will get stressed. And yes, you may lose track of God’s purpose in the moment. But remember that you can ask for peace.
