Devotional by: Lt. Melissa Sivels

⁵ Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.
⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4: 5-7

Can I confess something for a moment? I tend to have an anxious personality. I try my best to listen to the words that Paul wrote to the Philippians in these verses but sometimes that is much harder than others. I am a worrier. I am a people pleaser. I am a perfectionist. None of these things make it easy for me to avoid anxiousness.
However, I’ve started to come to a point in my life that I ask myself why. Why am I feeling so uneasy about things that should not be causing me a lack of sleep at night? Ultimately, whether I want to acknowledge this or not, my moments of uncontrollable anxiousness tell God that I do not trust him. I don’t trust him enough to believe that even if things don’t go exactly how I want them to that it will all be okay. I don’t trust that he has a much bigger and better plan than I do. I don’t remember that my corps people are first and foremost his people. He loves them much more than I ever could.
I’ve learned that when I need to pause, take a deep breath, and pray. Nothing fancy. It might just be “God, give me peace.” or “God, give me energy to make it through this day.” And when I do, when I pause, when I breathe, when I pray; the peace of God is sustaining. It’s life giving. It’s anxiety stopping. Even if just for a moment.
That’s my prayer for you this day. That you would experience the peace of God in a new and fresh way. That your hearts and minds would be guarded and comforted by Christ Jesus.
Rest in His peace. Rest in His presence. Find your comfort there.
PROCESS
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Do you have a reoccurring prayer?
What is it?
 
 
 
What do you need to thank God for today?
 
 
 
What does it mean to you to
live in Christ Jesus?