{"id":750139,"date":"2012-03-10T07:00:41","date_gmt":"2012-03-10T07:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/?p=750139"},"modified":"2012-03-07T18:49:14","modified_gmt":"2012-03-07T18:49:14","slug":"be-anxious-for-nothing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/?p=750139","title":{"rendered":"Be Anxious for Nothing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7<\/sup>and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d [Phil 4:6-7]<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In the previous blog we began considering the struggle we all have with worry even when we have a belief in God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sovereignty and faith that He hears and answers prayer.<\/p>\n

In this and following blogs, I want to go further in our study of Philippians 4:6-7.<\/p>\n

The first thing we learn from these verses is that: Adversity in life is either an inducement to worry, or an invitation to prayer. <\/em><\/p>\n

Even though we may know this instinctively, worry can be so automatic that prayer is the last thing on our mind. And sometimes just knowing the right answer isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t enough.<\/p>\n

A few years ago I was about to take a flight out of Dallas and I was feeling nervous about the trip. There were some health concerns and travel connections that were troubling me.<\/p>\n

In the car, on the way to the airport, I explained to my friend (who was driving me) the matters on my mind. I thought it would help to just talk about my fears out in the open. Unfortunately, I was with one of those dear Christians who was heavy on doctrine but light on compassion.<\/p>\n

After I shared my [very real and, I think, legitimate] concerns with him, he glibly rattled off the verse, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Be anxious for nothing\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Instead of a comfort, those words sounded like a dismissing rebuke. He had taken a beautiful verse of Scripture and had shaped it into a dagger.<\/p>\n

For some people it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easier in the face of problems to press \u00e2\u20ac\u0153play\u00e2\u20ac\u009d on the well-worn tape recording of stock answers in our head, than it is to really apply truth with tenderness and clarity.<\/p>\n

When someone is sick and you have the medicine they need, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just read them the prescription. Apply the medicine!<\/p>\n

My friend was more or less reading me the prescription, which I knew quite well. What I wish he had said was, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pull over and just tell God about this.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s applying the medicine. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the remedy prescribed in God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s word.<\/p>\n

We will always have adversity to face in this life. At the moment of choice, adversity will either be an inducement to worry, or an invitation to prayer.<\/p>\n

To worry is natural, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a habit that can be broken. To pray is supernatural and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a habit that must be cultivated. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s during conflict that the peace of God becomes so real to us.<\/p>\n

Peace is not the absence of problems. Peace is the inner persuasion of God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s power in the presence of adversity. The adversity in your life will either be an inducement to worry, or an invitation to prayer.<\/p>\n

The choice between those two ways of living is made long before the crisis arises. You can make that choice right now. The way you make that choice is by making thankful supplication the natural pattern of your daily life right now.<\/p>\n

Make prayer your first recourse in all situations, not your last resort in a moment of panic. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why Paul wrote to the Philippians, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Be anxious for nothing, but pray about everything\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

There are some problems that fall on us like a ton of bricks. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re so overwhelmed by the crisis that it knocks us to our knees. But during those other times of distress, where the problem isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t so alarming as it is annoying, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s then that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re more likely to worry than to pray.<\/p>\n

We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll consider what this application looks like in our next installment.<\/p>\n

Until then,
\nPastor Kevin
\n.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d [Phil 4:6-7] In the previous blog we began considering the struggle we all have with worry … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Be Anxious for Nothing”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750139"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=750139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750139\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=750139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=750139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=750139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}