Tag Archives: Peace

8.12.16 Don’t Worry About It

When I was as a child, I had a tendency to worry. If I became unsettled about anything, I would run to Mother who unreservedly gave me the assurances I needed. I can’t tell you the number of times she said, “Don’t worry about that. I will take care of it.” Or, “You’re wasting your time worrying about something you can’t control.” I bet you’ve heard these pearls of wisdom and have passed them along to your own kids.

Photo Courtesy @ flickr.com by Molly

Photo Courtesy @ flickr.com by Molly

Who will reassure us when our parents are gone? As I’ve matured in my faith in God, I understand that I can put my full faith and trust in God. However, I still catch myself worrying about things when I know cognitively that God already has a plan to take care of it!

Why do we lapse into worrying when we should know better?! God provides the answer through His own pearls of wisdom found in the Bible:

Pearl #1:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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.” (Phil 4:6-7)

Whenever we’re tempted to fret, we should bring it to the Lord by prayer and petition. God commands us to bring “everything” to Him through prayer and ask for His help. God is saying, “Don’t worry about it. If you’ll let me deal with it, I’ll take care of it and give you peace while I work on it.” When I catch myself worrying, I realize I haven’t bathed it in prayer. Worrying is our first clue that we haven’t trusted God with our concerns yet.

God’s command to “not be anxious about anything” comes with a gift that only comes from Him. He tells us that the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. And by the way, this peace is not something our finite minds will ever understand. Can you picture God’s peace as an impenetrable gate around your heart and mind so worry can’t get in?

I remember visiting Dad in his hospital room the night before his surgery to amputate his remaining leg. Before I prayed with him, I asked him how he was feeling to see if there were specific things I could bring before God. Without hesitation Dad said, “I’m so at peace that I feel nonplussed. It’s as if it’s not even happening.” Wow! The Lord’s peace was guarding his heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Dad knew he didn’t have to worry about this surgery because his trust in God never wavered.

I remember having outpatient surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon. It was the first surgery I faced. I had heard people share positive stories about their own surgeries, as well as the horror stories of things that went wrong. I remember praying that the Lord would give me His peace, and I had no trouble sleeping the night before. I had no anxiety while nurses prepped me for surgery, and all went well. God’s peace permeated my heart and mind, and He wants to do that for anyone who wants His peace instead of worry.

Question: So why do we, especially as Christians, lapse into worrying when we should know better than that?

Answer #1: When we don’t’ turn over our worries to God in prayer, we miss out on His peace.

 

Pearl #2:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt 6:25-33)

Jesus presents why we shouldn’t worry. Birds of the air do not “sow or reap or store away in barns,” yet He feeds them. We, on the other hand, have food stored in freezers, fridges and pantries. When we get low on food, we run to the grocery store. None of us wake up worrying about whether there will be food on the table. Imagine a bird waking up wondering where it will find a fresh worm to feed their chicks. If God doesn’t fail birds, who count on His provision daily, why would we worry over God’s ability to take care of us? His message is, “You don’t need to worry about these things. I will take care of them.”

Photo Courtesy @ flicker.com by Ian Thomas

Photo Courtesy @ flicker.com by Ian Thomas

He also reminds us that He expects pagans to worry about these kinds of things, but not His children. He says, “Your heavenly Father already knows what you need.” He invites us to quit worrying because our life is more than “what we eat, where we sleep, and what we wear.”

Photo Courtesy @flickr.com by Alon

Photo Courtesy @flickr.com by Alon

A missionary from Africa came to the states on furlough. During that time, he met with different congregations to share how God was moving there. One of the parishioners asked, “Do you find it hard after coming back to the states to go back to Africa?” The missionary said, “Not at all. In fact, I find it disgusting to see all of this materialism. In Africa, every family wakes up not knowing where their next meal is coming from. I see their profound faith in God’s ability to provide for them daily. And when God brings the provision, they praise Him!”

Question: So why do we, especially as Christians, lapse into worrying when we should know better than that?

Answer #2: We have “little faith” in God’s ability to take care of us in our situations. It’s as if our God is too small to handle our needs and circumstances. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Jesus wants us to know that He never intends for worry to steal our peace in Him. We can see that worry and “the peace that surpasses all human understanding” can’t co-exist. If we find ourselves being anxious or worried, it’s because we haven’t given them to God through prayer. It signals that our trust is no longer on Christ’s ability to take care of us. Our faith in Him has waned.

Let’s remember God’s Word to us:

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.” (Isa 26:3-4) 

Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27) 

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all.” (2 Thess 3:16)

 

Blessings,

Lee Ann

4.15.12 Be Anxious for Nothing

Philippians 4:6-8 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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 minds in Christ Jesus.”

     Imagine your doctor telling you he needs to admit you because your leg needs to be elevated to deal with fluid drainage from the ulcers. You head to the hospital in good faith with the premise of managing the leakage. Now imagine your doctor coming in a few days later to look after your wounds and announcing that your arterial circulation has significantly deteriorated and that an amputation is the best option to move forward. When he called me to share the news, he was feeling overwhelmed and scared. Dad was in a difficult position, and I was unsettled about it. Shouldn’t a doctor who has been treating my Dad on a regular basis have a higher level of awareness as to the real condition of Dad’s leg? This didn’t feel right to me. Dad was a captive audience, and he had to make a decision that could potentially place him in a nursing care facility. I asked Dad’s permission to call his physician.

     I was candid with him on the phone. 

     “My Dad understood that he was being hospitalized to elevate his leg and deal with the fluid drainage,” I told him. “He trusted your advice, and now you tell him that his leg needs to be amputated. Can you help me understand what’s going on? Was there more to your conversation with Dad prior to his admission that I didn’t know about?”

      “You are absolutely, one hundred percent correct,” the doctor said. That was the premise.  I had no idea how badly his arterial circulation had deteriorated until I looked at him.” Our family knew this day was coming when Dad would face another amputation. The goal was to save his leg as long as possible. The doctor acknowledged the many treatments Dad had undergone to manage these ulcers and thereby extend Dad’s independence. But the ulcers weren’t healing. He was given two choices. He could undergo an amputation or continue the battle to manage the ulcers.

     Saving the leg means a debridement surgery. This entails scraping away dead tissue in and around his wounds to create a healthy bed of tissue for skin grafts to close the wounds. Dad went that route a year ago. It took a couple of debridement surgeries just to clean out the ulcers and clear away the dead tissue. Then there was the surgery to take skin and graft it to the wounds to close them. This was a viable solution last year because his arterial circulation was very good, but that is not true this year. His arterial circulation deteriorated significantly, which made the debridement/skin graft approach an ineffectual treatment. His only other choice was to amputate.        

     Dad knew in his heart that an amputation was the right decision. Once he consulted with the orthopedic surgeon, Dad agreed to it. Over the weekend I notified family, Dad’s church family, and my Sunday School Class to pray for Dad. Since his surgery was scheduled for Monday, April 2nd, I went to the hospital Sunday evening to pray with him. As I was driving to the hospital, I wondered if Dad would be feeling anxious. Would he be having any doubts about his decision? When I arrived at Dad’s room, the power of prayer was already on display in Dad’s spirit! He was not feeling any anxiety. He was sitting on the edge of his bed exuding a peaceful demeanor. He was nonchalant about the amputation. When I marveled at his calmness, he said, “It’s like I’m ignorant of what’s happening.” That is God honoring the many prayers of His children on behalf of my Dad! But the power of prayer was not the only thing on display.

     God illumined the spiritual maturity of my father during our prayer time. I opened our prayer by asking God to pour out His grace, His mercy, His compassion, His peace, His love, His comfort, His healing, and His encouragement upon my father. I asked the Lord to allow this surgery to be successful. I prayed that the Lord would give Dad a victory in rehab so he could return to his assisted living apartment. I thanked the Lord for what this surgery will mean to Dad. Dad will no longer have nurses in his apartment every other day redressing wounds. There will be no more trips to clinics for lymphatic treatments. He won’t have to take pain medications that dull his memory. He won’t be in and out of hospitals to fight infections with antibiotics. He will feel more independent with more free time. As I finished my prayer, Dad began to pray. He acknowledged that there were just too many blessings to count. He prayed with a spirit of gratitude for all God has done for him. He prayed for those who are spiritually lost. Then he started to pray for me. 

     This is something special that Dad does often. Whenever I am with him and he desires to express appreciation for the things I do for him, he will go beyond a simple “thank you”. He will verbalize his prayer with me present. That evening he recited his favorite, “Lord, thank you for Lee Ann.” he began. “Please reward her generously for all that she does for me.” Now understand I am in a hospital room attempting to minister to him, but instead he is focused on praying God’s blessings over me. I hope I will be spiritually mature enough some day to focus on others instead of myself. His great faith in God’s sovereignty, God’s faithfulness to take care of him, and God’s perfect will for him is a tremendous model for anyone. I kissed him goodnight and knew in my heart that God had “prepped” Dad’s heart with immeasurable peace. 

     The surgeon called me at 8:50 Monday morning to let me know the surgery was a success. The recovery nurse called me at 10 a.m. to let me know he would be back in his room by 11:00. Each call was a confirmation that God was taking care of my father. There is nothing like the power of prayer. I believe God honored the multitude of prayers that went out for my Dad. God hears us when we pray and lovingly responds. Let’s praise God from whom all blessings flow. You can be sure that’s what my Dad is doing. 

Blessings,                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Lee Ann

12.22.11 Merry CHRISTmas!

You will find below my first video blog.  I just wanted to share what God has been showing me as I journey with my Father.  May you be blessed by it and have a very merry CHRISTmas.

Blessings,

Lee Ann