These past few weeks I have been praying so hard for God's people. There is an overwhelming cry for peace going forth, and God has been placing scriptures in my spirit about peace. I know that we all have our storms to go through but the question seems to be, "Why can't I have peace in the storm?" And you know what...you can!!!
BUT in order to experience God's peace, we have to understand how the process works. In Philippians 4:6-7 we are given the "process," now make sure you pay careful attention to how it works. The scripture says, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus" (underlining and red are mine). Now that you've read it once, go back and read it again...but slowly.
Here is the process:
1. We have to cut out all the worrying. Yes, I know it's hard believe you me I've had my share of worries and it's definitely a lot easier said than done but you will be all the better for it. Once you have stopped worrying ("being anxious" in some translations) begin to pray. Have you ever been able to rest easy while worrying? No, because your mind is in overdrive trying to figure out what to do next. We have to take God's word to heart and begin to cast our cares on Him (1 Peter 5:7), and the important part is to leave those cares in His hands. We mess ourselves up by praying over and over again for something that we should have never picked back up.
2. Place the issue on the alter, and the key here would be to leave it there. Once again, our faith comes into play. We will not solve any problem by sitting and worrying over it. That will only make us feel worse. Once you pray about it have faith that God will honor His word. Remember what faith is (Hebrews 11:1), it doesn't have anything to do with seeing in the physical. We have to believe even when we cannot see the results.
3. If you begin to pray to God, and catch this...start telling Him about the things that you NEED...and not what you WANT you will feel relief. When we are walking in God's will we won't have any trouble realizing that God already knows what we need. We must trust that He will supply all of our needs (Philippians 4:19) according to HIS riches and glory in Christ Jesus. So don't worry, He is going to take care of you. Matthew 6:30 says, "And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?" (NLT)
4. After we talk to Him about what we NEED, then just begin to thank Him for what has already been done. Those things that you have/haven't seen, the bible says to "be thankful in all circumstances..." (1 Thessalonians 5:18). We have to be confident in the fact that we serve a God who will take care of us. He won't leave us hangin'.
AND THEN...
You will be able to experience God's peace. This peace is so great that it is mind-blowing-it "exceeds anything we can understand."
So in your everyday walk stop worrying about everything, but begin to give those worries and cares over to God. And while you are waiting begin to praise Him! I am a firm believer that once you grab hold to the process and begin to praise God even before you see what He's done then you will be able to rest in Him and experience His peace. Don't allow the problems of this world to overtake you, nor the enemy to wreak havoc in your life. You CAN live in peace!
Be Encouraged,
God's Servant
This is me again from the previous comment on your last post! I'm Marilyn by the way. I came back and your message in this post is also very powerful and something that I am working on. I was just thinking to myself this past weekend about having inner joy and peace and casting all my cares to the Lord. And I also read Phillipians 4:19 to help give me strength. I also read the Psalm 23:1 over and over again and how it says that "THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD I SHALL NOT WANT". I had to keep reminding myself that if it is a need then The Lord has already taken care of it for me. While I was reading, I was praying to God and asking him for certain things and I was saying how they were just simple things (side note: I always feel like the little things that I think I need I never get them) and how come I still didn't have those things. And then I realized how selfish I was being because when I think about it, God has done so many GREAT Things in my life this past year and it is very selfish of me to be crying over petty things. So yeah casting all my cares to Jesus is something I am working really hard on and letting Jesus take ABSOLUTE control over my problems. The funny thing is that I encourage my mom to trust and not worry yet I struggle with heeding to my own advice. I thank GOD for you using you to confirm what He has been trying to tell me! MAY GOD BLESS YOU ONCE AGAIN! :)
ReplyDeleteWell, hello again Marilyn!! I'm so happy to hear from you and see how God is moving in your life. I just love Philippians 4! There is just so much there. Now, I don't want you to beat yourself up over wanting things, that is natural but don't let it consume you. And also, maybe you feel like those simple things aren't given to you...but ask yourself are they really things that you NEED? Remember God said that He would supply all of our needs, and keep in mind that it will happen in His timing and not ours (also most of the time these needs are fulfilled in ways that we would have never seen coming); I encourage you to keep on moving forward. Make sure to thank God for all He has done, and just make sure that you when you're casting your troubles/worries, and any other concerns upon Him that you leave them there. Be blessed :)
DeleteOh yeah, and don't feel bad that it's a challenge to listen to your own advice. That's how it happens for most people. It's a lot easier to tell someone something than to walk it out yourself. But just remember what the word says! And exercise that faith :)
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