I signed up to do a devotion for Choir right after we started back. Little did I know that I would have a very hard week leading up to it as well as have a hard time to get it together in a week. A week seems like a long time unless your schedule looks like most moms I know. I was beat down with various things on my plate, so God spoke loud and clear to me about this passage. I don't know if it was for anyone else in choir that night, but it was DEFINITELY for me!!!! That's what God does....he just works like that. :)
Philippians 4:6-9 The Message: "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. Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and mediating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious--the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies."
1. Don't worry
What is worry? A definition I found was "to afflict with mental distress or agitation: make anxious."
None of us need more mental distress. With today's economic situations, family struggles and our busier than ever lives, it's easy to fall into the trap of worry. The Bible clearly tells us we shouldn't, yet we always seem to fall for it.
Do you ever feel like there is this constant agitation or unrest in your spirit? How can we combat worry? We can't just ignore it and think it will go away. God says to pray about it. Give it to HIM. Instead of wasting precious time worrying about something, spend that time praying. He can give you peace for unrest. We shouldn't be more anxious about what we desire or what MIGHT happen than God's plan for our lives.
I read somewhere that "Worry is faith in the negative." Negative is bad....You don't want your bank account to be negative. You don't want the temperature to be negative. So, why should your faith be negative?
2. Fill your mind
We've all heard the old saying "Garbage in/garbage out"....Fill your mind with the Word, with positive thoughts, with positive friends or anything else that is good such as Christian music, sound biblical teaching, etc.
3. Put into practice
The next time you start to worry, get on your knees. Talk to God instead of your friends or co-workers. Let HIM know your problems FIRST because He is the only person who can give you peace.
4. God will make everything work together in "His most excellent harmonies".
One of the definitions of harmony is: "an interweaving of different accounts into a single narrative".
We're all from different backgrounds, have different lives, different areas of struggles, but God wants to align all our differences and put us on the line to Him. Kind of like that Fidelity commercial where the people have to follow the green line to a better financial future. We each have our own line we have to follow, but ALL our lines lead to God.
5. And the most important thing I got from this verse is that "Christ displaces worry".
If we have Christ in our hearts, worry should not be there. There's not enough room for the two of them!
Philippians 4:6-9 The Message: "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. Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and mediating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious--the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies."
1. Don't worry
What is worry? A definition I found was "to afflict with mental distress or agitation: make anxious."
None of us need more mental distress. With today's economic situations, family struggles and our busier than ever lives, it's easy to fall into the trap of worry. The Bible clearly tells us we shouldn't, yet we always seem to fall for it.
Do you ever feel like there is this constant agitation or unrest in your spirit? How can we combat worry? We can't just ignore it and think it will go away. God says to pray about it. Give it to HIM. Instead of wasting precious time worrying about something, spend that time praying. He can give you peace for unrest. We shouldn't be more anxious about what we desire or what MIGHT happen than God's plan for our lives.
I read somewhere that "Worry is faith in the negative." Negative is bad....You don't want your bank account to be negative. You don't want the temperature to be negative. So, why should your faith be negative?
2. Fill your mind
We've all heard the old saying "Garbage in/garbage out"....Fill your mind with the Word, with positive thoughts, with positive friends or anything else that is good such as Christian music, sound biblical teaching, etc.
3. Put into practice
The next time you start to worry, get on your knees. Talk to God instead of your friends or co-workers. Let HIM know your problems FIRST because He is the only person who can give you peace.
4. God will make everything work together in "His most excellent harmonies".
One of the definitions of harmony is: "an interweaving of different accounts into a single narrative".
We're all from different backgrounds, have different lives, different areas of struggles, but God wants to align all our differences and put us on the line to Him. Kind of like that Fidelity commercial where the people have to follow the green line to a better financial future. We each have our own line we have to follow, but ALL our lines lead to God.
5. And the most important thing I got from this verse is that "Christ displaces worry".
If we have Christ in our hearts, worry should not be there. There's not enough room for the two of them!
