Day 14 – All Your Anxiety

Philippians 4:6  (NIV) “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
I know what you’re thinking, easier said than done, right?  We spend a lot of time consumed with worry and stress over things that we cannot control.  That doesn’t mean we don’t stop trying, but is it comforting to know that we have One who intercedes and hears our prayer?!  

Stress can become our prison if we allow it to consume us.  The anxiety that we may feel can also bring about other health concerns.  Letting go isn’t easy, but perhaps we have to begin by taking a step back from the problems at hand.  Get some perspective.  Look at something else instead of the trouble of stress you are facing.

Could it be that even within this moment it is a test of your faith?  Do you trust God to help you through it, even if He doesn’t deliver you from it?  In the grand scheme of things, how bad is your trouble really?  Has God not overcome worse in our world?  What makes you think that He won’t be there for you now?  

Paul tells us to bring everything to God through prayer and petition in a spirit of Thanksgiving.  That seems crazy to thank God for your troubles as well as your joys, but in so doing, we will experience His very real presence and power.  So make a list of your troubles, both big and small, and bring them before God in prayers of Thanksgiving.  Thank God for the challenges and for His presence.  Perhaps this could be an opportunity for you to test your faith (and perhaps your patience).  

Prayer: Dear Lord, I confess that I have troubles and stress in my life.  Help me to have some perspective on these things.  Allow me to have a deeper faith as I wait on you to lead me through.  Be with me now as I lay these petitions of Thanksgiving at your feet.  Today I pray for (list your troubles, anxiety and stress – name them, even say them out loud).  Close by thanking God for leading you through your past stresses and have faith that He will deliver you through these very present troubles.  -Amen.