Peace!

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

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

We live in a world of ever-changing values and standards. The world never seems to know where it is going or what it wants; that is why trends come and go, fashions come and go, and sin always seems to become more and more daring. We live in a world of darkness, a world that is comfortable with evil because its prince himself is evil. This is the same world that God has asked us to live in and make an impact in. How do we do that? How do I live as a sane person in a crazy world?

Today's extract seeks to help us focus on the important things. There will always be distractions, but the quality and target of your focus determines the quality of the output of your life. If I focus on what the world has, and I pursue its allure and attractions, then I have opened my heart to a lot of heartache. No matter how much you have, you are never satisfied because the focus, target and pursuits are all wrong. It does not matter how much you justify the pursuits, as long as they are done outside God's prescriptions, all you have amassed will fall away with the test of time. 

So, what is expected? There is a strong advice: there is something I must avoid, and something I must do. I must avoid anxiety, and I must pray about everything. I cannot do one without the other. Many times, we do the opposite: we talk a lot about the issues, we complain a lot and grumble about what we are passing through, but we do not do the needful: Pray. Until we do that, we are not entitled to the blessings that come from obeying these instructions to pray. But as we pray, we are telling God that we cannot help ourselves, and we depend on him absolutely to help us, we tell God that we have no strength in ourselves, but we depend on the grace of God for everything that we need.

As we go out today, let us remember that we are not equipped to fight life's battles by ourselves; God wants to help if we will allow him. We must be willing to let go and let him work. As we surrender to him, he fights on our behalf and does what we could never have achieved, no matter how hard we tried. Pray today, his time of favour has come.

PRAYER- Lord, help me to put everything that is bothering me on you today. I have no power of my own, but I depend on the grace that you alone can give. You have all power and all strength, and I know you will help me even as I pray. Amen.