«His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus» (Philippians 4:7, NLT)
WHAT IS the most highlighted verse in the Bible? A few years ago, Amazon published a list of the most underlined passages of their best-selling books. According to the famous company, the verse of the Bible that is highlighted most is Philippians 4:6, 7: «Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus» (NLT). It’s easy to see why this passage is the most highlighted. Today, more than ever, our world is filled with worried, stressed-out, distraught people who have experienced a terrible past, are experiencing a very difficult present, and believe an unfavorable future awaits them.
To those of us who feel overwhelmed by stress caused by our excessive worry, Paul’s words could not be timelier: «Don’t worry about anything.» The Greek verb translated as «worry,» merimnate, also entails the idea of being anxious or distressed. In Matthew 13:22 it is translated as «the worries of this life» (NIV). How dare Paul tell us not to be concerned about our personal circumstances? Is he expecting us to be completely silent and unconcerned about everything we’re going through? Of course not. In fact, Paul does not expect us to sit still and instead provides us with a plan of action.
According to the apostle, the way out of our problems is not achieved through prolonged worrying, but rather through fervent prayer. So instead of bearing our anxiety, we would do much better by bending our knees and bringing it before God’s presence. It’s as if Paul were telling us, «What we have to do is not worry about anything and pray about everything.»
Every moment that tries to rob us of peace and plunge us into stress is a valuable opportunity for us to address God in prayer. Why should we do so? Because that’s how God will give us His peace. And what will that peace do? It «will guard [our] hearts and minds as [we] live in Christ Jesus» (Philippians 4:7, NLT).
Today, is a good day to begin experiencing that peace, with a word of prayer.
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Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2023
“I AM WITH YOU”
From: J. VLADIMIR POLANCO
Collaborators: Lorina Maya & Angelica Cuate
