Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, 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.
Dear Heavenly Father,
This life feels like things, and people come at us from every direction; our to-do lists keep getting longer. So we worry about what is not done, burden ourselves with how we will take care of the things that require our finances, and concern ourselves about the time we need for our families. Yet You tell us not to worry about anything.
Through Paul, You told the Philippians (and us) to rejoice in You not once but twice because You were near. Only by faith are we confident in how close You are to us, and everything we have comes from You. You blessed us with all that we need, and You are the one who sustains all our needs; thinking that what we have will be gone or that You will stop providing for us is our sinful nature, causing us to doubt You.
So we respond as Paul wrote with prayer and thanksgiving because You already removed our most significant problem, sin; if there were anything we should be seriously disturbed by, it should be sin. The slightest infraction condemns us; not one of us is innocent.
Yet You restored us by Your salvational plan: sending Your Son to suffer in our place so that by His suffering and death, we have been redeemed from all our sins. Through faith in Jesus, forgiveness is ours, and peace comes by being reunited with You. Why would You forgive us as undeserving as we are? Your love and peace which goes beyond human understanding.
Please allow us to share Your grace and mercy with those who do not know You so they will not worry about anything but rejoice in You over the salvation and eternal life Jesus won for us all. Amen
Written through Pastor Roger Emmons
Be confident in the one who has removed your every sin, so you have nothing to worry about but trust in Jesus. He has already forgiven you.