6. Thanking God
Scriptures:
- Philippians 4:6-7
Observations:
I could just stop at this first clause, "do not be anxious about anything," and leave blessed for the day. Struggling with an ingrained habit of sin is painful. You're uprooting everything of how you interact. Sometimes, you have extreme withdrawal and cravings for your sin. Sometimes, you can't even trust your own mind to not wander off into its sin, but must exercise extreme continence, or, control, just to strive towards a purity based off of holiness. That's where I am. I'm on edge, hyper-aware of my sin and the temptations around me (thankfully, it's a weekend, so I can hole up and cut down on the influx of external temptation).
But, let's continue.
"... but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."So, instead of being anxious, torn up, in internal turmoil, let us, in a heart of gratitude offer a prayer of supplication to God, letting him know our needs and requests. Just one thing: supplication is a very nice, Christianese word that we all kinda only partially understand. so, here's how Dictionary.com defines "Supplicate"
1.
to pray humbly; make humble and earnest entreaty or petition.
2.
to pray humbly to; entreat or petition humbly.
3.
to seek or ask for by humble entreaty."
- Supplication involves humility
- Supplication should be in earnest ("resulting from or showing sincere and intense conviction")
- Supplication involves prayer, petition ("A formal request appealing to authority with respect to a specific cause"), and entreaty ("An earnest or humble request")
So, in every situation, instead of being anxious, let us turn and pray with an attitude of humility, sincerity, and intense conviction, pleading with God that he would meet our request to provide our needs and equip us to combat our sin, simultaneously showing gratitude for what he has done and is doing.
Or, in a nutshell, we need to recognise God with a greater sense of awe and majesty, and not our confidant/best buddy, whom we can flippantly talk to, then go on our merry way. We are making a petition of the almighty, holy God to meet our needs.
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."In our times of trial and anxiety, when we're neck deep in temptation and struggle, why do we take the time to come to God and bother such a busy and worthy personage? Well, for starters, because Jesus said we could and made it possible, but mainly because Jesus also said "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." (Matt 11:28), following that statement with "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gently and lowly [i.e. humble] in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matt 11:29)
What Paul is writing in Philippians, that God will grant us peace and will guard our hearts and minds, echoes what Christ himself said a mere handful of years earlier.
Application:
I just need to rest in Christ. I need to come, relax, and let him take the reins and stresses present in my life. I need to give myself over to his strength and restoration. I need his peace.
Prayer:
(In private)
~ ~ ~
The Love Dare
Day 13: Love Fights Fair
"Like it or not, conflict in marriage is simply inevitable. When you tied the knot as bride and groom, you joined not only your hopes and dreams but also your hurts, fears, imperfections, and emotional baggage. ... Pretty soon your mate started to slip off your lofty pedestal, and you off of theirs. The forced closeness of marriage began stripping away your public facades, exposing your private problems and secret habits."Marriage has this God-blessed way of holding a mirror to your face and showing you your flaws through your spouse. In four months of marriage, I have felt God use my wife to sanctify me more than at any other time in my life. It hurts, but it's healing.
The text today speaks of establishing rules of engagement for how we go through conflict with our spouses, setting up "We" rules and "Me" rules - "We" being rules made together governing the terms of engagement overall, such as, "We will not argue in public.", and "Me" being rules made within oneself governing one's own actions and behaviour in conflict, such as, "I will not raise my voice in anger."
This'll be a good thing to sit down and talk with my wife over.
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