Divine Design: March--Rejoice, Prayer, Peace

I am back-dating this post since I am late for the challenge...again. One of these months I will be on time!

Read more about the Divine Design challenge HERE.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7

This Bible passage is one of my favorites (and one that I needed a reminder about) for a few reasons. Here are a few of my thoughts about it:

Philippians was written by Paul, an apostle that was run out of town, beat up, whipped,and jailed for preaching about the good news of Jesus--if anyone would have an excuse to be down about life it would be this guy--who wants to rejoice about being hurt and rejected? Yet he still rejoices in the Lord always and urges us to rejoice. He doesn't just say it once, but twice to be sure we got it.
He continues by telling us not to be anxious about anything, but to take everything to God. Sometimes our worries seem silly or we think they are small. I believe God cares about even the little things that worry us. Sometimes our worries are so big we feel we can't give them up. Trust God with them!
The last part talks about a peace that passes understanding. When we give everything up to God he gives us a peace that we might not even understand. An inexplainable peace. A peace that guards our hearts and minds.
Try it. Give your worries to God.