Fret Not; Trust.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). We know the verse well, don’t we?What would you say your anxiety level is? Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary says this regarding the definition of anxiety: “regarding some event, future or uncertain, which disturbs the mind and keeps it in a state of painful uneasiness. It usually springs from fear or serious apprehension of evil and involves a perplexity of mind to know how to shape our conduct.” Perplexity of mind – interesting. Are you wondering how to un-perplex your mind and instead, set your mind and therefore shape your conduct? Scripture tells us to set our mind on things above, and not on the things of this earth. Tall order? Impossible? Not if we are depending on the Holy Spirit…!I enjoy observing body language and people’s countenances. That is why I have especially disliked wearing a mask. I recently have observed two individuals in the same setting without their masks. As I observed their speech and their conduct, something stood out to me. I would say one had lost inner joy; the person’s speech was flat, robotic-type behavior was displayed, and there was a change from what I had foreknown. While the other, after admitting some struggles and concerns, had a joy, a buoyancy, an inner knowing—that while all was haywire with the world, all was right with his soul. The joy of the Lord was his strength and thus a cheerful countenance resulted. They were both Christians. One had surrendered control and was trusting God with life situations while the other was polished and said all the right words, lifeless words that rang hollow. It gave me much to ponder.We can either wait for all conditions to be right (that will never happen), or we can decide to turn our hearts to God in simple obedience no matter what our circumstances are. When we do this, we are modeling our faith and trust in the One who always works for our good and His glory. Are you talking to your children about your trust in the Lord and how to dwell on "these things"?“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is lovely, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8).As we move through this week leading up to Easter, may we fill our minds with holy and acceptable things and respond in truth, righteousness, and in joy knowing that our God who sent His only Son to earth to die for your sin and mine, is worthy of our trust. May we remind one another that we are ‘Easter people’ and our hope is secure because He is risen![embed]https://youtu.be/Sh5CHqKdV5c[/embed]