“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things”
Phillipians 4:6-8
Yes, it’s been a rough season. It may still be rough. This pandemic keeps stretching on. More and more people keep getting sick, and life keeps happening. We can’t control many things, but we can control our responses to our circumstances and our minds. This week, these scriptures came up in one of my devotionals, and it was striking to me the order in which they came.
First, don’t be anxious. Realize that everything is taken care of BEFORE it’s taken care of. You know this and you thank Him–not just with your lips, but with your heart. Our God has a history of being able to work things out, and we should realize that. I believe this is so important–the knowing. When Jesus was in his home town, He did not perform many miracles, because of their unbelief. When we don’t believe, we place limitations on God that aren’t naturally present. Not because He can’t, but why should He? Our unbelief is why our mountains don’t move. Knowing that things will work out, will change, that we will be victorious before we even ask, this is important. Our God is mighty, but our faith is an important part of what He requires from us.
Next, pray, humbly, giving thanks for what you know He will do. This will give peace that won’t make sense given your current situation. Your heart and mind will be guarded. BUT IT DOESN”T STOP THERE!
The next step is so important. Because now that you have removed the worries from your mind, you must fill that space, or an idle mind will be filled with negativity again. So what do you do? Focus your mind on positive things–pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy things. You meditate on positivity.
So, I will be the first to admit that I am not necessarily an optimist–I call myself a realist. But here, it is telling us to focus on those things that are good. Additionally, many people find meditation and mindfulness uncomfortable topics, but this is one example that it is not necessarily something to be fearful of. Meditation has been shown to have health benefits, and meditation on the correct things will keep your heart and mind at peace after the appropriate steps have been taken.
I can’t tell y’all how much I have seen this at play in my own life during this pandemic. Positive thinking, thanking Him in faith, rejoicing before it’s done, gratitude and focusing on positive things, meditating on His word and my spiritual growth. I have found myself more peaceful than I could have imagined through some extremely difficult periods this year. Reading these scriptures truly hit home, because this year has been hard. My patients are sick and anxious and some have died and are dying. I’ve lost friends and loved ones. I’ve had struggles that aren’t pandemic related. But through it all, I’ve had so much to give thanks for, so much to smile about, so much light! If you know where to focus, there is so much peace in the midst of a storm. (Peter found that if you know where to focus, you, too, can walk on water! Just don’t get distracted. Matt 14: 28-29)
This too shall pass. But in the mean time, you can have peace. You can smile. You should rejoice and give thanks. Because of what you have today. Because of what will be done. “And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds.”
