When Worry Has No More Room

"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." These are the words of Philippians 4, verses 6 and 7.

Notice the order. The verse does not begin by telling you to stop worrying, as though worry were a switch. It gives you something to do with the worry. You carry it somewhere. You name it in prayer, which is simply speaking to God, and in petition, which is asking for a particular thing. You add thanksgiving, not because the trouble is small, but because gratitude keeps the trouble from filling the whole frame.

Then comes the promise. The peace described here is not explained; it is said to go beyond explaining. It does one job. It guards. The image is of a sentry posted at the door of your heart and your mind, standing watch over the two places where fear likes to settle.

If you are tired today, start where the verse starts. Take the one thing you are turning over and hand it across. You are not asked to feel peace first. You are asked to ask. The guarding is God's part.