Holding Pattern of Worry

Philippians 4:6-7 – Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

1. Be careful for nothing. This would be a call not to worry about anything, NOTHING. As Jesus said, each day is filled with enough trouble on its own (Matthew 6:34) and we should not worry. One of the reasons why we should not worry is because if we do, we will place ourselves in a continual holding pattern of worry.

When we worry, we cannot think about anything but that situation. We continually run over it in our minds and it consumes our very being. We cannot think clearly, our time is consumed over it, and we cannot accomplish the things we need (or like) to because our focus is on a particular situation. You feel stuck, unable to move beyond the situation.

If you look back over a situation you’ve worried about, how much did you accomplish? How many meetings did you miss? How many things did you not do?

Now, this isn’t an opportunity to ‘worry’ about opportunities lost, but to end the holding pattern and move forward. There will be some things you cannot control and some you can. There will be some things you will need to do. For some, you can do nothing but pray and conduct yourself in a righteous manner. There are others where you will need to get up, dust yourself off (Proverbs 24:16), and get ‘back in the game.’

2. But in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. As Paul admonished the Philippians not to be careful about anything, he told them what to do. All those things that you would have been worried about, take them to the Lord. However, when you take them, do so in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving (1 Thessalonians 5:18). He said to do this with EVERYTHING.

3. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. As you bring your requests to the Lord in prayer with thanksgiving, our hearts and minds will be kept in the peace of God through Christ Jesus. How great is that?! You don’t have to worry about your situations and circumstances, you only need to bring them to the Lord and receive His peace in return.

As you receive His peace in your heart and mind, you no longer become concerned about when, how, or where your answers will come. You are comforted to know your requests have been given unto the Lord and He will handle them in His time, in His way, on your behalf.

If you feel like you’re in a holding pattern of worry, pray to the Lord, and place the petitions of your heart before Him. Allow His peace to guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus and continue in Him.

Photo courtesy of Photo courtesy of Stock.XCHNG.com/ColinBroug