Jesus, thank you!

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Thankfulness Is Peace

Phil. 4:6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Phil. 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.



There are 5 million things in my life that, if given some thought, would quickly drive me to anxiety. Life will always be full of things that try to cause me to stress. God doesn't give people His peace just by making their circumstances better for them. After all, if it took a problem solved for me to have peace, you would have to wonder what is really giving me peace, Christ or the circumstance. I think the key word in these two verses is thankfulness. Thankfulness and anxiety are like fighting roommates; they don't get along. One will not be in my heart for very long at all, before the other is making other arrangements. To have thankfulness in my heart, would require that I meditate on all God has done for me. When I am down about something, it is quite a discipline to make my mind meditate on anything besides what is causing my anxiety. When I do meditate on all the good God has brought about, and feel thankfulness rise up inside of me, it becomes hard to be stressed out. There is also something to praying with a thankful heart. If I am still sulking, it's doubtful that my prayers are going to be motivated righteously. When I pray with thankfulness, I pray contented prayers, and tend to be more focused on God's will rather than mine.

Posted by Jeremy Turner :: 6:59 AM :: 2 comments

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