Dear Mr. Anxiety, Could You Please Leave Me Alone?

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanks giving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." I Peter 5:7

I truly had to be reminded of this today. Sometimes we do everything but this. We complain, we justify, we blame, we ignore, or we hide. We may throw a quick "Hey God, could you help me out here" but do we really take the time to be still and bring God ALL the things we care about? Or maybe we have so many times but there is still no answer. We want answers. We want the riddles solved. We want the dilemma fixed. We want something to make us feel better. "Get me out of here! Just give me something, anything!" But we must be reminded that in our very transparent moments with God and the unbarring of our souls to Him, He doesn't always give us the instant satisfaction or the instant answer that we have been so accustomed to getting nowadays. Paul reminds us that He gives us a "peace" that "transcends all understanding". It "guards our hearts and minds".

What exactly could that mean? As I read that now I wonder what it would guard me from. In the context of this passage what is being protected by peace? Could it guard us from a bitterness that may seep into our spoiled hearts for not getting the answers we want? Could it guard us from confusion that the enemy whispers in our ears? Could it guard us from an anger that creeps in because we are not getting our way? Could it guard us from apathy that develops from us being tired of waiting? Could it guard us from complacency and laziness that try to steal our place and purpose? Could it guard us from the ever so subtle numbness that happens as time goes on? I think the answer to all these is yes.

These passages never speak of getting all those anxieties fixed and those cares being removed. It simply says to bring them to God. To trust Him with all of it. We can't forget that God, though He very well could and many times does fix things immediately, has a timing that we usually do not understand. He is at work in realms we cannot see or understand. He is moving pieces into play. God is a chess master not a checker player. One day we will look back and see how it all played out. In the meantime we must rely on His peace to keep us going. It is a trust issue on our part. These times and situations always reveal our level of faith in God. We may not like what we see when this is revealed. Thank God for His Grace and Mercy. We wouldn't last two seconds without it.

So rest in the Peace of Christ. Bring all your "stuff" to Him. Let Him assure you that He knows and is at work to move you through it all. Receive His peace and let it guard you from bitterness, confusion, anger, complacency, apathy, and numbness. Know that He is at work and He loves you more than you know. He wants you to live life to the fullest more than you want to live it. Trust Him. That is all He wants.