Wednesday, August 13, 2008

"The Message" on Worry

Philippians 4:6-7 (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."

"Let petitions and praises shape my worries into prayers"...I love this phrase. That is what I will choose to do this very moment. When I put my mind on Him and how great He is, then I don't start thinking about what might happen in the next few hours or days. My spirit is so willing, but my flesh is weak. Worry keeps trying to pull me back to itself, but I'm not letting go of Trust, who is much stronger.

Father God, You are great and mighty. You have set the world in motion, and then You chose to put little ole me in it along with gazillions of other people. I praise You for the few things I can see with my eyes, for all the beautiful sounds I can hear, and for all the everythings you have given me to touch and feel. The smells around me are a reminder of Your provision, as well as Your creativity. Truly, I stand amazed by Your wonders. Also, Lord, when I reflect on all the ick that has happened in my past and how You were not only present, but protecting and providing through it all...again I cannot hold back from singing praises to You. So, I'm never gonna stop, Lord. I'll keep praising You. Help me, Lord, when my mind wanders into Worry's forest to turn away and run immediately, straight to Your arms of safety. I'm so weak, Father, and I can't do it on my own. I know also that so many of my brothers and sisters are faced with trials, with hardships, with decisions, with uncertainty, and I pray you would give them the same peace and the same prayer.

And there are so many crying out to You, God, that don't even know You personally. Draw them to Yourself, as you already are, and lead others to them to share, to pray, and to be Your hands and feet. All of this I pray to You, the Holy One, the brilliant Maker of heaven and earth who holds all things together, Amen.

Matthew 6:34 (The Message)

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

6 friends shared a comment:

Joanne Sher said...

I love that phrase too (gotta get back to reading my "Message!") - He is SO faithful to us. Praying you out of the Worry forest (could you do the same for me?).
Excellent message, dear.

Tracy said...

Beautiful. I too, need to re-read the "Message". Thank you for sharing this wonderful reminder for how to handle the worries of today! Blessings!

midspoint said...

Worry is such a natural instinct...one that we must give over to the Father and allow Faith and Trust in the One who created things out of No-things, to carry us through those times!!
Great thoughts, Laura,
Blessings,
mid

Stacy said...

Wow, how is it you always touch on the trials I am going through, God himself must have led me to your blog for a daily dose of inspiration. I hope you don't mind, but I am praying your prayer for my own life now, and will also pray for you. I gave you a well deserved award if you would like to see it check out my blog.
Thank you for sharing your gift.

Bill Williams said...

May God add a thousand blessings to your prayers!

-bill

Patty Wysong said...

I love that phrase, LaLee! I've just got to turn my eyes to HIM!! Thanks, sweetie--I needed this one at this moment!