“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” ~ Philippians 4:6
REFERENCE:
We’ve established that worry is unproductive, and most of what we worry about are things we have no control over. Therefore, we must reiterate the concept of declaring war on worry. When Paul said, ‘be anxious for nothing,’ he meant ‘not even one thing.’ Let nothing in life agitate you to the point of tension and confusion, leading to a sense of hopelessness; this is satan’s strategy to divert your focus from God.
Paul said, ‘Not one thing’ because worry can set off a chain reaction. Allow one worry in your mind; very soon, others will march behind it like an army in formation. I knew the power of worrying by experience when I got married: will we have a child? Will my wife get pregnant? When she was pregnant – what if she miscarries it? What if the child comes out malformed? Then, when the child was born, I remember constantly checking if he could hear and see. Worry!
“Worry is allowing problems and distress to come between us and the heart of God. it is the view that God has somehow lost control of the situation, and we cannot trust him.” ~ Gary E. Gilley. Worry says to God, “I don’t trust You to take care of me and my issues; I will rather handle things by myself.” Worry is an offshoot of unbelief. In an actual sense, worrying is sinful to God.
To declare war on worry, we said yesterday that you should decide to be anxious about nothing. In addition, Paul said, ‘by prayer and supplication.’ The key to not being anxious is to pray about everything. Any matter that is too little to pray about is too little to worry about. Prayer says to God that I turn everything over to You, trusting You will solve them.
Lastly, Thanksgiving is the most potent way to declare war on worry; it puts things in perspective. It helps you see God through the storm and count your blessings when it seems nothing is working out. It recounts God’s past faithfulness, which boosts your faith for present struggles. The popular hymn says, “Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly, and you will be singing as the days go by.” Glory! Worry can turn into singing through Thanksgiving.
PHOTO QUOTE
ADDITIONAL TEXTS:
Psalm 34:1-10 and Psalm 42:5-6
PRAYER:
+ Lord, I lift my heart, hands, and voice today to thank You for Your faithfulness in my life. I declare that You have done me well; You have fought invisible battles for me and given me uncommon victories. I am assured that You can repeat what You once did and complete what You authored in my life. I do away with worry and replace it with faith, in Jesus’ name.
