Give It to God

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. (7) If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

The past 3 years have been rough for the World. I can't speak for nobody else, but I have debt, unpaid bills, and other things I need to take care of. It is very easy to let money control our lives, and most people would agree that money is the most important thing in the world. However, the "recession" has taught us that even money can be scarce, and fails us. If you have a job, what will you do if you get fired? Money is not permanent, but it is temporary because it is man made. This is NOT a blog about only money and I am not asking for it, but I am going to show you how something temporary causes us to worry. Please do not miss the picture God is showing you.

Philippians 4:6-7 is a popular scripture because it usually compliments Matthew 6, when Jesus talks about worry. However, there is a point Paul made but if it is not revealed through the Holy Spirit, it will be severely overlooked. The point Paul was making was this: GIVE IT TO GOD. Why is this important? How did I get this from a scripture talking about worry and prayer? Let's break it down verse by verse, and explore.

Verse 6 reads, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done" . Paul started with the words, "Don't worry about anything" Why did Paul say that? He said this because it is so easy to let materialistic things and even people stress us out for no reason. Paul understood that we are human and worrying is apart of life. When you worry, usually something that is OUT OF YOUR CONTROL has happened. If you could control it, you would not worry. When you worry, you begin to ask "What can I do to solve this?" "What if I cannot solve this?" "How did I get here?" "If I would have done this, I would not be in this situation" and the list goes on. First, take a look at those statements.......notice how each question/statement has the letter "I", and that is exactly the problem.

We as human being were given dominion in Genesis because we were created in the Image of God (Genesis 1:27-29). However, we have allowed Satan to lie to us the same way he lied to Eve by telling us that we are "god-like" and to a certain extent, we are God's reflection but WE DO NOT HAVE GOD-LIKE POWER. However, we believe that everything is under our control so when we do not have control we begin to worry. We do not have the answers to every question and we do not have everything under our control, contrary to popular belief. It doesn't matter who or what you worry about, but the problem comes when you ask yourself "What do I do now?" Paul clearly answers this question when he states, "instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done" Paul gives us the most unlikely answer to worrying when he says "PRAY" about everything. Paul instructed us to pray because we are saying, "God, this is way to big for my power but I know it isn't too big for You to handle. Help Me" and is an act of submission. However, the rest of the scripture tells us to "Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done". We must tell God what we need but also THANK HIM FOR WHAT HE HAS DONE...when we thank Him for what He has done, it reassures us that if He did it in the past, He could do it again. However, it is also a form of praise and worship. How? We are praising God for what he has done and who He is all at the same time. Thanking God for what He has done also keeps us in submission by realizing that we must give our problems to God because we can't handle it. There is also another benefit to praying instead of worrying, which can be found in Verse 7.

Verse 7 reads, "If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." When we pray and give it to God, we will experience not just peace but The Peace of God...what's the difference? Worldly peace occurs when there is nothing to worry about, but the Peace of God says, "I know you're going through Hell but it's ok. God got you." This Peace passes our understanding because we are calm when we should be worrying. Let me give my testimony: I had registered for school, and I had to submit my parents' tax forms but could not find them. I started to worry but I read Philippians 4:6-7 earlier, so I prayed and I heard the Holy Spirit say, "You did your part, now watch me do mines." After I prayed, I stopped worrying and I experienced the Peace of God because I knew it was in the hands of the Master, someone who could do what I couldn't. We found the forms, and I registered for school. His Peace is amazing, and I still do not understand it, but Paul also tells us how we get this peace when he says, "His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." This peace is for those who live in Christ Jesus a.k.a Followers Of Christ. The only reason this peace is for the Followers of Christ is because they will understand who gave it to them and will witness that God has fulfilled his promise.

Worrying has no benefits, it can kill you faster than you plan. Maybe you're worrying about money, job, house, car, family, relationships, etc. God wants you to know that while your power is limited, He can do ALL things. If you do not know who Jesus Christ is, allow me to introduce you. Jesus is God in the flesh who came to earth to pay your debt to God (sin) on the cross, He died and was raised from the dead 3 days later and now sits on the right hand of God. If you accept what Jesus did and repent of your sins, you become a Fiollower of Christ. Romans 10:9-10 (NLT), states, "For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (10) For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved." In case you're confused, in order to be saved, you must: Admit that you are a sinner and cannot save yourself, Accept that Jesus Christ, who is God in man form came to die for your sins, and Believe that God raised Jesus through the power of the Holy Ghost. If you have done this, you are saved. You will experience the peace of God only when you act on Philippians 4:6-7, it will not magically come to you. I pray that you were blessed through the Word, and remember that God loves you so much, He gave His Life for you. Be Blessed

P.S. Please double check EVERY scripture I post. DO NOT assume I know what I'm talking about. I take the Word of God very seriously and if I have misquoted or left out ANYTHING pertaining to scripture, please forgive me and let me know.