I had an interesting conversation with my chiropractor last week. He said that he simply didn’t believe that there was this supreme spirit being who fielded billions of prayers at the same time and answered each and every one of them. I told him, “we all have the freedom to believe whatever we choose. You don’t have to believe in God if you don’t want, however, what if this whole thing about God and heaven and hell is all literally true? I would rather believe something that is good and just and right and pure then do as I please in the hope that it wasn’t true. I happen to think living for God is a pretty nice way to live.” I then asked him, “what about you?” He said, “I guess I would be going to hell if it were true.” I said, “it doesn’t have to be that way.” There is no miraculous salvation story to tell at this time, but I hope I gave him something to think about. I say all this to introduce the entry relating to the verse above with relation to “bring(ing) up all your requests to God.”
It is very difficult, with what we consider to be reality staring us directly in the face, to NOT be anxious at times. Yet Paul tells the Philippians not to be anxious about ANYTHING. Bring it up to God, says Paul. What do we receive first and foremost when we pray … peace. At times it can be instantaneous, other times it may not hit us until later when we notice that we are not anxious anymore. Can we thwart God’s peace? I believe so if we continue to feed our fears rather than drink in the cool water of life through His word or through prayer and praise. Many would rather cuss and fuss, punch someone out or drink themselves into oblivion, but the fears and problems will still be there when the dust settles. They will still be there in our peace, but they will no longer have a hold on us.
God provides us with all we need to survive this life. We must tap into it regularly. We wouldn’t get very far with no gas in the tank of our car, neither would we get very far spiritually if we didn’t feed our spirit. It must be a routine … regular, like clockwork. It matters not whether it is morning, noon or night, just that we do it. Read a devotional and ponder its meaning for today. Read a portion of scripture and roll it over in your mind, thinking of all its meanings. Don’t say you don’t have time, MAKE time. Even five minutes is better than NO minutes. You wouldn’t think of going through an entire day without eating or drinking something. We need to hydrate our spirits too. This stuff doesn’t just happen on its own. Like an athlete doesn’t become world class by being a couch potato, we will never be a useful soldier for God without putting in the time and effort to become one.
I am not here to tell you that I never get anxious. I am speaking to myself as I write this just as much as I am speaking to the masses. I fret about things quite frequently as a matter of fact. I DO know how to combat it … I pray. I rebuke the devil and all his demons in Jesus’ name and ask the Lord to calm me down. The situation IS what it is, it isn’t going to disappear. The thing about it is that you will never walk through it alone.
Psalm 23:4 (CEB) “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger because you are with me. Your rod and your staff they protect me.”
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!
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