Day #2471

October 6, 2020

Tuesday’s Thoughts on Scripture comes from Philippians 4:6: Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (NRSV)

Stop worrying! There isn’t anything to worry about! Just do not worry! The last thing you need to do is worry about that! 

Do any of those sentences work to help you stop worrying? I venture to say, no, not even a little bit. How about this one: when you are praying, you are not worrying! That one, which is very similar to the verse above, can even be unsuccessful. 

What about this picture from Mindful Christianity, a visual reminder that what we worry about will most likely never happen? I can see it, and I know it is true, but it still comes up short. 

So what do we do about all our worrying, which seems especially prevalent these days? Well, I go back to: when you are praying, you are not worrying. We can (and God invites us to) pray about everything, especially those things that give us the most worry. Remember, we cannot control what we cannot control, but God is able and faithful. 

Then….I invite you to read, and take to heart, Philippians 4:8: Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (NRSV) We may not be able to stop ourselves from worrying, but we can train ourselves to change the things we regularly think about and concentrate on. 

Timely scripture? I think so, what about you?

Blessings. And prayers.