Sacred Insight: Application
How can you apply this scripture to your own life in accordance with God’s will?
Last week we talked about anxiety – bringing our worries to God and leaving them there. But worry is so often a habit that is extremely hard to break. Like a parade of cars on a dirt rode, the more our minds drive down the same path of worry and negativity, the deeper the ruts in the road become and it literally becomes more mentally difficult to stop worrying. It has been proven that the most effective way to rid yourself of a bad habit, is to replace it with a good habit.
Cue thankfulness.
Let’s review our scripture
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Did the ‘with thanksgiving’ part of this scripture seem a little odd to you? How are we supposed to thank God for something we are worried about? “Uh, thanks for this scary thing in my life that I’m really really worried about, God…?”
Not exactly.
See, buried in this scripture, the simple inclusion of the words “with thanksgiving” includes ancient wisdom about how our thoughts shape our lives and the role gratitude plays in that. If we can replace the habit of catastrophising and imagining the worst possible outcome with the opposite – the habit of imagining the best possible outcome, we can transform our lives. The writers of the Bible understood that gratitude is kind of a secret weapon.
The truth is, our thoughts shape our lives.
For instance, if you walk around thinking about how you are the worst cook in the world, but you have to make 3 dozen cookies for the church potluck and you’re incessantly worried that they’ll be full of eggshells, burned and bitter… I hate to say it, but there’s a good chance they will be. After all, you are mentally rehearsing how to fail. On the other hand, if you walk around thinking about how you’re a pretty dang good cook and how thankful you are to God for giving you this gift, your mind is going to feel encouraged and excited to make those cookies. Your mind will mentally rehearse whipping up a batch of mouthwatering cookies. That is the power of thankfulness.
Thanking God for the many gifts He has given us is a powerful display of faith – it’s actively trusting in His mighty power and love and this is how mountains are moved!
Matthew 17:20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Thanking God for what he can do and will do in your life and actually believing and allow your mind’s eye to see those things happen infuses you with joy, it lights you up with thankfulness and allows you to trust your Creator to take those burdens your carrying and make something beautiful out of them and out of you.
How can you apply this scripture to your own life in accordance with God’s will?
What worries are you currently carrying around?
Ask God to take your burden from you and then say “thank you for handling my problems today so that I don’t have to”. Now, close your eyes and imagine God working on your behalf like a parent would for their beloved child. Throughout the day, whenever that worry resurfaces, change your negative story to assurance and trust that God is handling this for you.
Live It Out: One of the best ways to deal with worry, is to take the energy you are using on worrying and use it on loving and serving others instead. Find a need in your community and make a list of tangible ways in which you can help. Then pick one or two and get busy!