Day 18: Rejoice!

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Verse  Philippians 4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus Christ.

Thought

When Paul wrote this, he was sitting in a dark and filthy prison with the death sentence hanging over his head.  And yet he was able to shout Rejoice!

We are told that we should take our needs straight to God, not to be anxious, but to pray and give our worries to Him.  When we do put our trust in Him, He will give us the peace beyond all peace, the peace we long for.  

When I am worried or anxious, I become increasingly ratty and short tempered, not gentle at all!!  As for shouting Rejoice….just doesn’t happen! I find it incredibly difficult to hand over my worries.  I always hang on to them while paying lip-service to handing them over.  How liberating it would be if only I could let go!  You always read of stories where people have done exactly as Paul suggests.  They hand everything over and just trust that God will take care of them.  You hear of wonderful things that happen like exactly the right amount of money, the right job, the thing that is their greatest need being presented to them. 

But I’m sure that equally, people hand over things to God and the miracle cheque doesn’t arrive in the nick of time.  I am one of the people who harbour little doubts and find it very difficult to trust and let go. I worry about not worrying!   I need to just take that leap of faith and know that God has my best interest at heart and let Him take control.  Without keeping my foot on the brake pedal…….

Prayer

Father God, let me trust in you, not only in dark times but in good times too.  Let me shout Rejoice in the sure knowledge of Your love.  Please fill me with Your peace that transcends all understanding.  Guard my heart and mind in Jesus Christ.