Worry Wart

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

I tend to be a worry wart at times. I think many moms are when it comes to your children. I remember when my husband lost his job in my last month of pregnancy and we were living in a town that wasn’t all that friendly. There we were; no jobs, no income, very few local friends and a baby on the way. After the first feelings of shock wore off, I started worrying how we would survive as a family. Sure, we had savings and a supportive family in other states but we had never had to reach out to anyone for help before. Thank goodness for our local church family who turned up at just the right time to remind us of this verse! 

Paul wrote this verse to address relationships in the early church and how to handle disagreements. Paul notes that his experiences have taught him to be content with whatever material blessings he has. This reliance on the power of Christ not only allows believers to be content, it produces peace in our relationships to other Christians. And his advice to us is to focus on our relationship with Jesus. With our focus on positive things, we can experience peace through the power of God. 

Jesus tells us Himself “ Do not worry” many times. Why is it so hard to hand our worries over to Him? Is it because we don’t like to admit that we are overwhelmed? Or is it because we want to have things fixed NOW! I’m not sure of the answer, but I can tell you, through practice of handing my worries over to Him, it has gotten easier to do. I have felt the Peace of the Lord flow over me when I hand it over to Him. And I never forget to thank Him for all the good blessings in my life. 

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, our world is full of chaos and uncertainty but You remain constant. Please calm our hearts because we know that You are with us. Thank you for all the good and positive things in our lives and help us to remember that “Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”. Amen 

This devotion was written by Virginia Hardwick Kerr and read by Judy Wilson.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. 

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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.