Happy Friday! I hope that wherever you are, the sun is shining like it is here and that you are encouraged by the blessings of walking with God. In our home, this has been "one of those weeks." Not only was the first half the week unusually busy for us, but it was unusually trying! Do you ever have those weeks when everything seems to go wrong at once? It began last Sunday when I went to print out and study the lesson I had prepared for my Sunday School class of teen girls, and the computer was completely unresponsive. No matter what I tried, it would not come up and my husband's efforts were fruitless as well. This was after a night of very little sleep, which probably magnified my frustration. Sunday afternoon I sprained my ankle. As the week progressed, we had breakdowns of two other technology items, an unplanned trip to Richmond to diagnose and repair said computer, and I came down with yet another cold!
It is during times like this that I have to remind myself of what I know to be true about God - that He is sovereign, good, and His ways are always wise. It is tempting to resort to thinking and talking about our "bad luck" - but if we believe that God is sovereign, then there is no such thing as "luck." We understand that God superintends every event in our lives. And you know what? He is more interested in our Christ-likeness than our comfort! The question then becomes, what do we do to know God's peace during these times? This week, as I so often do, I returned to Philippians 4:6-9.
1. Verses 6-7 are a reminder to pray right - talk to God instead of yourself! The word "but" suggests that we are to replace worry with prayer. Every time you begin to worry, try replacing that worry with praying. We are also told to pray "with thanksgiving", which is an expression of faith when you are in the midst of trials. Praying with thanksgiving before anything happens tests what our hope is in. It means being willing to let God choose the outcome. The result is that the peace of God will "keep your hearts and minds" right through Jesus Christ. "Keep" means to guard - not letting anything dangerous in.
2. Verse 8 tells us that we not only have to pray right, but we have to think right. That means we have to practice "selective thinking" - not just letting our minds go to whatever thoughts come, such as "this is not fair" and "God isn't caring about me." We are to think of the things we know to be true, which only comes from reading the Word, and not the "what-ifs" or the "if-only's." Those "what-if's" and "if-only's" are expressions of a lack of trust in God.
3. Verse 9 says that we have to follow up on praying and thinking by doing right - acting on these things. I can know I am supposed to pray right and think right, but not practice it. Lest you think that I am a paragon of virtue, I had to discipline myself this week to respond right - it was much easier to fret and complain! The word "do" here has the idea of ongoing activity, practicing over and over like you would practice a skill to perfect it. And once again, we are told that the result is peace.
Have you had a trying week? If not, you will, sooner or later! I hope these thoughts will help you to respond the right way.
By the way, my ankle is much better, I am feeling better from my cold, and we were able to get ALL of our technology items fixed at NO COST. When God answers prayer or blesses us, we need to be as quick to give Him the praise as we are to complain!
Blessings,
Kathi
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