Philippians 4:6. Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in EVERY THING by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Well, it’s another cold and cloudy day, but one with a peculiar difference; the earth, the trees and the rooftops are covered in that white fluffy stuff called snow. (smile) Yes, we finally got a fair amount of the beautiful but ever so dangerous stuff yesterday and it just made a mess of the Greater Toronto Area. Accidents galore, and endless time to get around, that is when you could. Saw a picture of a bus having problems moving in the thick snow. And if a bus could have problems, think about how the smaller and less powerful vehicles managed nuh.
Oh, and I just heard the snowplough outside finally cleaning my small and insignificant lane. (smile) But we can’t complain too much because it’s the first real snowstorm we’ve had for the year, and it’s definitely not as bad as what some areas have had to suffer through. Our storm probably deposited a few inches, while other areas have had a foot or more. So, we can still say ‘Thanks be to God!’ And if we’re talking about giving thanks, then this scripture from Bruh Paul’s epistle to the church at Philippi, written while he was imprisoned, is one we should certainly review.
He’s talking about the people who helped him lay and build the church, how their names are being written in the Book of Life. Therefore, he advises the church to: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation (gentleness, graciousness) be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in EVERY THING by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.’ (Phil. 4:4-6)
Oh my fellow believers, I hope you noticed that most significant admonition: ‘in EVERY THING’ we should prayerfully give thanks as we lift up our desires to Almighty God! Yes, whatever it is, however serious or insignificant the problem, our God wants to hear about it, because He desires to work with and help us through whatever difficulties we encounter in this life. But we must endeavour to have a prayerful and grateful attitude regardless of our circumstances. Why?
Bruh Paul explains: ‘And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:7) And that’s the gospel truth! When we keep our minds stayed and steadfast on God, He grants us divine peace from worry and anxiety through His wonderful Son Jesus Christ. It’s like Bruh David writes in Psalm 22 – The Plea of the Fearful: ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit) the righteous to be moved (shaken).’ (Ps. 55:22)
But it won’t happen unless we believe it and subsequently place all our trust in Almighty God. And that’s also why Jesus taught on the importance of not worrying in His Sermon on the Mount. (Matt: 6:25-32) He explained that we should not worry about food and drink and clothes, how the birds and other animals, plus all the beautiful flowers in nature are looked after by the Father, and since we are more important to Him than them, why wouldn’t He also look after us? No reason whatsoever!
And anyway, we can’t change anything by worrying about it, so worrying is useless. Like Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say. Worry is like sitting in a rocking chair. You can sit there and rock all day and still get nowhere. You can worry about your problems all day and still don’t have a solution. It’s best to spend your energy on talking to God about your problem, than trying to fix it yourself.
Hence Jesus’ admonition: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow (don’t worry about tomorrow): for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil (trouble) thereof.’ (Matt. 6:33-34) Yes friends, each day has its own problems that we need to handle responsibly, instead of wasting our valuable time looking forward to hypothetical problems that might arise on the morrow.
That takes us back to Bruh Paul’s admonition to the Philippians, where he continues: ‘Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest (noble), whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise (anything praiseworthy), think (meditate) on these things. Those things which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.’ (Phil. 4:8-9)
That’s it in a nutshell my fellow saints: how to get God’s peace and how to keep it. Seek God first, don’t worry about your life, but take everything to God in prayer with thanksgiving, and think on good things, things that encourage, rather than discourage, and the God of peace will provide peace and a good, worthwhile life for us. Obviously it won’t be easy to do, what with the natural ups and downs of life, but with God’s most able assistance, through His Holy Spirit that indwells us, we can have a good and fruitful life, producing even up to a hundred-fold. (smile)
And our God is so wonderful that He never asks us to do anything without giving us the wherewithal, or the tools to do them. Consequently, He has generously bestowed on us what we call our Thursday Blessings, so that we can do His earthly work. But we need to declare them out loud so that they can be activated. So, let’s do that right now nuh. Altogether: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
Now, with those blessings activated in our lives, we are expected to go out and generously use them to bring others to Christ. Much LOVE!
…you can ride out any storm of life…in peace…with Jesus as your pilot…
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