Daily Strength - When exasperated

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4 vs 6-7)

The Bible has some big words, words that are able to touch every aspect of our lives, who we are, and what we are facing. Today we come to another one of those words. It is the word ‘anything’. Anything includes everything, nothing counts as an exception, nothing is left out.

How can somebody honestly write to a small group of Christian who were living their lives out under all kinds of pressures and say ‘Do not be anxious about anything’? What if the person writing this was in chains when they wrote, and what if they didn’t know whether the next knock at their door would mean freedom or the long slow walk to a place of execution. What if they had been learning something, a wonderful truth, that they desperately wanted to pass on to others? 

‘Knowing Jesus’ is a big theme of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. Paul has been learning that Jesus can be trusted with his life. He has been learning that in every situation he faces a choice, deal with his own frustrations and pressures, or place them at the feet of a Lord and Saviour who died for Him. Sitting in his prison cell Paul writes as someone who is guarded by Christ, and in his heart he finds a peace that goes beyond his understanding.

Prayer: Father You know the pressures I face. Help me to lay all of these out before You. Help me to know that You guard my mind and my heart today. Give me Your peace. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.