Tag Archive | Psalm 94:19

Philippians 4:6-7, My take…

When the apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Philippian Christians, he was in prison in Rome. And while in chains he is writing this letter of encouragement and joy to them. Seriously! How is it possible that Paul could avoid being anxious or not worry in such a setting? Paul gave the formula for how such a thing is accomplished. Pray! And not only pray but pray with an attitude of thanksgiving.

This verse gives us a lot to take in. Our sin nature balks when we are told not to worry. It’s quite difficult to face a challenging situation that any normal human being wouldn’t worry about. Oh, and may I remind you about the fiery darts. Worry or being anxious is definitely one of the enemy’s most often used weapons against us.

So don’t let worry or anxiety catch us off guard. Don’t for one minute believe the lie that we can’t help worrying. Therefore, in order to prevent being overwhelmed with worrisome thoughts, we need to shift our focus. And that’s where prayer comes in. Prayer must be our default response when the temptation to worry or become anxious assaults us. Two components of prayer in this verse are: the kind of prayer where we share our feelings about the situation with God, and petition is where we make specific requests concerning the situation.

In this verse we are advised to flavor all those prayers with an attitude of thanksgiving. Maybe I can describe how this works with a personal antidote. A reoccurring temptation to worry about my future often makes attempts to intrude my thought processes. But I know if I allow those thoughts to enter my head, they will take over. (FD’s 3rd edition, p66) Therefore, I immediately put a ‘Not welcomed” sign over the doorway of my mind when those fiery darts attempt entry. And I block those temptations with prayer.

In my time of prayer I not only cry out to God about my worries, but I frame them within an attitude of thanksgiving. I thank God that He is in control of my situation. That He is my refuge and strength which I can call upon. That in the midst of my circumstance God’s comforting presence is with me. Eventually, an unexplainable sense of peace will fill in the space left by the rejected worry.

So, we can worry thus invite an assortment of fiery darts. All fashioned to take up residence in our thoughts. Or we can choose to reject the enemy’s lies. And take a deep dive into the Scriptures for the mighty weapons of God that will expose the lies. These will be the Truth thoughts which will now rule our thinking. Thus, an unexplainable peace will settle over us like a calming breeze guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Overcoming fear through God’s Word…

Mar11

Since last Saturday, I find myself watching the news far more than I usually do. I search for headlines daily reporting on the Middle East crises. (Choosing my sources for this information requires that I depend upon God for guidance.) Considering the nature of the rhetoric, I could picture the enemy reaching for the poisoned dart of fear. Biding his time as to when to fire it off.

I confess, prior to February 28 I was already caught up in a fight of resistance against fiery darts. Resistance against some personal issues of worry, confusion, and anxiety. And right up until the day before, I was dealing with this onslaught. Then Saturday happened. So realizing I was already in a weakened state, Satan added his pièce de résistance – fear!

If I was to have any hope in countering the enemy’s plan, I knew I needed to secure an alliance with a force greater than my enemy. Past experiences has proven that spending time with God in His word and prayer is the key to deflecting the enemy’s attacks. This has been my modus operandi in extinguishing an invasion of fiery darts. Yet, I can tell you it wasn’t a sudden fix. It took days of prayerfully reading and meditating on God’s word for the transforming truths to penetrate. And along the way as I availed myself to God’s truths, I settled down. The fiery dart of fear, lost its momentum along with the worry, confusion, and anxiety.

Satan goes after the most vulnerable. That would be those who aren’t equipped with the weapons of our warfare. Stands to reason, if we aren’t aware of our weapons we won’t know how to use them. Therefore, we are easy prey. Understandably, getting informed of how in control God is, we will have the confidence to endure. And that my dear readers is how we can overcome fear and all its fiery dart companions. No matter how the headlines read!

The 3 R’s of Disappointment

May25

Recently, I experienced a huge, and I mean huge, disappointment. I missed the championship game of my grandson’s soccer team. All because I got confused on the date. My disappointment was intensified by the fact that his team won, 3 to 1. And he was instrumental in the 3 points his team scored. It was a glory moment for him, and I had missed it, unnecessarily!

But allow me to back up to the day prior to the game. I had two important appointments on my day’s schedule. But then a chance conversation with a relative resulted in my cancelling those appointments. Therefore, I was able to attend an event of even greater importance.

I remember commenting to my close friend, how grateful I was to God for intervening and redirecting my plans for that day. It gave me such a secure feeling to know that God was overseeing my plans. That God redirected when necessary. I also remember talking to my friend about my grandson’s championship soccer game. How proud I was of him and how I looked forward to that game.

Then after taking care of those appointments I had cancelled the day before, I get a call from my daughter. She called to ask me if I was coming to the game! A game that was already 30 minutes into play. We live 40 minutes away. There was no way I could make it. I was devastated (and that’s putting it mildly)! No thoughts of gratitude toward God for redirecting my plans this time!

All it would have taken was a chance conversation earlier in the day. Or a glimpse at my phone calendar to check the date. It would have required no miracle to alert me to my misunderstanding about the date. God could have easily intervened, just like He has done the day before to reveal my mistake. But He didn’t!!!!

My temperament has a hard time letting go of such disappointments. Negative thoughts feed on disappointments like this. I was struggling to know joy and peace in the midst of my despondency.

Yet, empathetic words from my friend and a phone call from my grandson helped me over the initial hurdle. Then the following Truth Thoughts

A devotion on

Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him.” NIV

And,

Psalm 94:19, “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” NIV

worked to disrupt the enemy’s manipulative scheme.

Finally, a fiery dart that I’m overreacting to all of this discouraged me from writing this blog post. But the Truth Thought found in

2 Corinthians 1:4, “He comfort us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” HCSB,

extinguished that fiery dart.

My readers may not be suffering disappointment exactly as I have posted here. But the steps to prevent the enemy’s manipulation and deception in the event of disappointments are the same.

Recognize, Reject, and Replace

And that’s worth posting about!

God goes before us!

May28

There are times when our thoughts seem to become more anxious by the moment.

Recently, anxious thoughts took center stage in my mind. They indeed appeared to multiply. The fiery darts of worry and fear joined forces with doubt and confusion. The problem loomed large. My ability to handle it grew smaller. I was close to feeling overwhelmed. I needed peace of mind.

Then God gave me a Truth thought that settled me down.

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV

As I meditated on this verse, I gained a new perspective on my problem.

God had gone on before me. You know out there where that problem was.

When I get to the point where I have to face the problem, I am not going to be by myself. God assures me He will be with me the whole way!

Fear and discouragement get left behind!

Now that’s what I call Consolation!

I asked God for a physical sign that He would protect me and not allow me to be taken advantage of. Normally, I don’t ask God for a sign. But this time, I felt it was necessary, considering my weakness. He gave me that sign!

So every time, the fiery darts of doubt, fear, discouragement, etc., attack, there’s my sign reminding me of God’s promises from Deuteronomy. That’s when the verse from Philippines 4:6-7 comes into play.

Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. NIV

Did you notice God’s peace (which I am sorely in need of) will guard my heart and mind, surpassing all those multiplying anxious thoughts!

Now, I must focus on these verses whenever I’m tempted with anxious thoughts. If I take this approach, I will face the future, where my problem looms, with confidence in God. He has gone on before me, remember!