The Power of Thanksgiving - Don't Worry, Be Happy

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Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 This scripture is power-packed! Let's break this down.

 Don't be anxious about anything. To be anxious is to worry or be nervous or at unease. We aren't to worry about ANYTHING!  Easier said than done, but we can do that when we have faith in God and trust that He will do what He says He will.

 In every situation we are in we are to present our requests to God in prayer and petition. To petition is to earnestly and humbly ask or even beg. When we pray this way, humbly begging God, we acknowledge our utter dependence on Him while at the same time expressing complete trust in Him.

 By prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present our requests. This is recognizing that everything comes as gift from God. We don't deserve it, but God shows His mercies (compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.) on us and we are to acknowledge that in our hearts and express our gratitude to Him who bestows these gifts to us.

 When we do these things, then the peace of God, which transcends all understanding (meaning going above the norm) will guard our hearts and minds. Peace is defined as the freedom of disturbance.  (Uh oh, I hear a Bob Marley song coming on... Don't worry, be happy).

 So, to recap. Don't worry about anything. In every situation, humbly bring our issues to God. Knowing in our hearts that He has every right to refuse us anything and kill us if He chose to, but because He loves us He doesn't. Then we need to express our sincere gratitude to Him for ..well... everything. We deserve nothing, yet He gives us eternal life with Him, no stress, no sickness, no financial woes, no death....shall I go on?  When we truly understand and acknowledge that fact, we can 100% trust Him to do what is best for us.  Once we have grasped this concept, presented our situation to God in such a manner, then His peace, which blows away anything we can understand, acts like a superforce shield around our hearts and minds, protecting us from worry, doubt and fear (amongst a whole bunch of other totally useless anxieties that stresses us out).

 Lord God, I humbly ask that you teach me to recognize Your gifts and prompt me to sincerely give thanks to you for everything that You do for me. Without You I am nothing. Forgive me of my selfish thoughts that think I can do anything, or even exist on earth without You being the one to allow that.




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