BE THANKFUL, NOT ANXIOUS
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgivingG2169, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 (BSB)
G2169 ĕucharistia – gratitude; act. grateful language (to God, as an act of worship): – thankfulness, (giving of) thanks (-giving).
Strong, James, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, G2169
G2169 – . . . Eucharist is used in modern language for Holy Communion, embodying the highest act of thanksgiving for the greatest gift received from God, the sacrifice of Jesus. It is the grateful acknowledgement of past mercies.
Zodhiates, Spiros, ed., The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament, G2169.
God’s peace will be mounted as a sentinel around our hearts and minds in the midst of situations in which most people would consider it quite normal to be anxious. What is the condition for having that calm, protected feeling? When we begin to worry about something, we must take it to the Lord in prayer with thanksgiving. In other words, we must ask in faith (James 1:6). We need to be able to worship God with gratitude even before the answer to my prayer is visible. We love the definition of faith in Hebrews:
Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title-deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality – faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses.
Hebrews 11:1 (AMP)
When we begin to feel anxiety, we need to take the problems that are weighing us down to the Lord and, by faith, thank Him in advance for the peace He will give us. We need to worship Him in our prayers and trust that He only allows those things in our lives that will make us more like Jesus (Romans 8:28-29). Being able to pray with this confidence takes practice. Sometimes our minds must tell our emotions that we are going to trust God whether we feel like it or not. In other words, “Emotions, you are not the boss of us. God is our boss!” We must trust the goodness of God as fact whether our senses or our emotions can see what good can possibly come out of a situation. Fortunately, God understands that we humans struggle with this; and it is okay to pray like the father who brought his son to Jesus for healing, “Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief” (Mark 9:24).
Father, help us to bring all our cares to You trusting that You care for us as your word tells us in 1 Peter 5:7. You are our loving father, and by faith we praise You now for all that You will do in and through us in the future. Thank You for Your loving kindness to us.