Love prays

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholenes, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (Philippians 4:6-7, THE MESSAGE)

In the challenge book they give the definition to worry as simply mentally rehearsing the possible negative outcomes to the difficulties we face. Isn't that so true. And we all have something we could worry about: finance, family, jobs, marriage, bills, future, past, and much more. But what good does it do us? Have you ever gotten better by worrying about a situation? I know I haven't. I have only gotten worse. I get more distracted, more upset, frustrated, and even physically sick by worrying.

I think God knew all of that when He told us in this verse not to worry. But instead of worrying, pray. Take it to God, the one who can do something about it. And what does He say will happen when we pray? We will have a peace that passes ALL understanding, or as this verse says our sense of God's wholeness and everything coming together for good will come and settle us down. Because we are assured in His word that ALL things, even bad, destructive, worrisome things will work together for our good.

We may not see what good is coming out of things right now, but rest assured you will one day look back and say, Thank you Lord for keeping me at peace while you worked out every detail of that problem. So many times we get ourselves into situations because we don't trust God or wait on God for His timing and direction. Then we really start to worry. If we will simply live one day at a time, walking in the footsteps God has laid for us, then we can remain in peace knowing He has brought us to that place and He will take care of us.

So the challenge today is when you feel yourself start to worry, stop and begin to pray and praise and allow God to fill your heart with a peace that passes all understanding.