Are you swimming in a sea of worries because of the impossibilities in your life? Believe me, dear friend, I am extremely familiar with impossibilities. And I absolutely know what it is to be overwhelmed with worry. In fact, my beloved sisters who have studied God's Word with me for years are probably smiling just about now. Why? Because they have heard me share more than once that I feel like I have the gift of worry!
And maybe you are smiling at this topic for today because I have exactly described your own experience of wrestling with the beast called worry. So I want to share something from my heart with you that I am learning from the Lord. I want to show you what to do with every worry. Every time. Every day.
There are two verses in the Bible that show us the way — I want to share them from The Message translation to help us reflect on their application in our lives —
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 wholeness, 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 MSG
Okay, so the phrases are so beautiful and truly help us see what to do with worry. Instead of worrying, pray. However, this passage actually shows you the special prayer you need to set in motion. You want to shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.
So, what's your worry today? Finances? Job? Illness? A loved one?
Here's what I have been doing to shape my worries into prayers. Every moment a worry comes into my mind, I pray. And in the middle of the night when everything seems even more impossible, I slip out of bed and onto my knees, and shape that worry into a prayer.
Cry out to God, dear friend, and shape every worry into a prayer. You are connecting with the One who has every answer to every worry. Whatever your worry, God is not surprised, nor is He overwhelmed. He is your help and your deliverer, and He knows His plan and and purpose for your life. Oh the matchless promises of God. If only we could focus on them instead of our worries. If only we could fill our minds with God's Word instead of filling our minds with worries.
So let us make a covenant here and now to choose the promises of God's Word instead of worries, and talk with God instead of swimming in a sea of worries.
On a recent myPhotoWalk, my Nikon D810 in hand, and a load of worries flooding my mind, I captured this beautiful pink water lily just floating in a pond among dozens of flowerless green lily pads. Are we going to be like the lily or the pad? When we turn our worries into prayers I believe we will be like this beautiful pink water lily, reaching up to our Lord.
I can't wait to hear how God works in your life. According to Philippians 4:6-7 you and I will experience the peace of God that surpasses all comprehension. The Message puts it this way — "Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, 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."
Imagine the peace that will flow into your life through the power of God's Spirit. His peace will enable you, very much like this beautiful water lily, to quietly and calmly float above and through every difficult circumstance in your life.
Dear Lord, today we choose to pray to You in the midst of our worries. Thank You for your promise of peace as you settle us down. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Blessings ♡ Grace
