Handing It Over

The book of Philippians is a fairly short book of the bible which is about half way through the New Testament. It's full of all kinds of great verses which have been quoted to myself and others over the years. I'm very sure when Paul wrote this book of the bible (remember he was in prison when he wrote it) he didn't expect us to just read the verses, but to also apply them to our lives.

Phil 4:6 says, "Don't be anxious about anything..." How are you doing with this one? Some nights it's pure work to do the next part of this verse. "in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Recently, I woke up in the night with a long and heavy list of concerns and worries which had me awake trying to figure out how to solve them. Some of the items on my list weren't in my control and many of them needed to be handed over to the Lord. After a lot of mental work and struggling to pull my mind back on track, I needed to repeatedly hand the concerns and worries to God and ask Him to intervene, change hearts (including mine) and help me to ride the wave I was on.

I'm happy to say some items are now stroked off my list and other items are still waiting to be finished, however I am constantly reminded that God is in control and I need to pry my fingers off and let Him work in ways I can't even image.

Phil. 4:9 says, "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me -- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

Jo-Ann