No Worries!
Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.
Paul and Timothy wrote this etter to the church in Phiippi, and it is always important to consider the audience, because you can only place a demand on those who recognize your authority. How would you command obedience and allegiance from people who do not even know you exist, or who refuse to accept your position as superior? The audience here are 'all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons'. These are the people the verse above addresses. Holiness isn't available for sale on the open market; it is something you are given based on your total surrender to the Lordship of Jesus. It is both internal and external, because it is the conviction of the heart that will determine the profession of the life. I must therefore be careful about whatever it is I allow to make or leave an impression on my heart. At some point in life, those impressions will manifest.
If I have indeed given my life to Jesus, it is again a misnomer for there to be room in my heart for worry and anxiety. God and anxiety cannot exist in the same heart all at the same time. One must give way to the other. If God is in charge, He will take care of all the things that may cause worry. If worry is in charge, it is hard for God to dictate terms. This is where I have to be careful about the One to whom I yield my heart to. To be careful for nothing is to have God in charge of everything. It is to place God first and foremost before anything else. It is to know that God can take care of anything and everything that can take his place in my heart. The right attitude is to go before God with a heart of appreciation and gratitude. He is able and capable to do all He has promised to do, so there is nothing to be anxious about. The new year ahead has its own thrills and threats; the only One who can help me navigate is the One who knows the end from the beginning. Trust Him totally. God's time of favour is here.
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