What to Do with Worry
Philippians 4:6-7
Tuesday, February 20th
Last year right around this time, a 10-year-old girl in Florida was swimming in two-feet of water at a local park, when a 9-foot alligator attacked her. Now normally, such an attack would spell death for any child her age. Amazingly, this girl had recently taken a class on“ what to do if you’ re ever attacked by an alligator.” So, when the gator opened its jaws and grabbed her leg, she poked it in the nose, then grabbed ahold of its jaws and pried them apart, pulling her leg out of the gator’ s mouth.
If you lived in Florida( or if you do live there), would you be worried about gators? Maybe alligators aren’ t a threat to you, but maybe there is something else in your life that is just as scary to think about. Something that occupies your thoughts and sometimes makes it hard for you to sleep at night. In our lesson today from Philippians chapter 4, God tells us,“ Don’ t be anxious( or worried) about anything …” We all struggle with worry and anxiety. So how do we fight it?
First, let’ s be clear on what God means here. When he tells us not to worry, he’ s not saying that we can’ t love and care for each other. In fact, if you’ re worried about someone, it probably means your heart is attached to them. And that’ s a good thing. It’ s good when parents want their child home safe every night. It’ s good when you care about your spouse, your friends, your parents, and even your own life.
In fact, this section highlights that God knows you care about those things. He also knows the challenges you face are different than any other person’ s. So is the pressure you feel. So are the reasons you feel sad when you have to say goodbye to a grandparent, a friend, a mom, a dad, or a child. So are the reasons for your worry. Despite what some might say, there really is no one in the world who knows exactly how you feel. No one, that is, except for Jesus.
In our verses today, God gives us a class on“ what to do if you’ re ever attacked by worry.” But unlike that little girl and the gator, he doesn’ t say you have to fight those things on your own. Instead he says,“ in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” In other words, you’ re not in control here. God is. And he wants us to place all our cares, worries, and anxious thoughts into his hands. And when we put our trust in the Lord to handle all things, he promises that the“ peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard [ our ] hearts and [ our ] minds in Christ Jesus.”
Prayer: Merciful Lord, when we grow anxious, lead us to bring all of our thoughts and worries to you in the full confidence that you will take care of us. Amen
Activity: As a family, identify the different methods Paul gives us for battling worry. Once you’ ve made the list, come up with ways in which you’ re going to put that into practice this week.
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