Philippians 4:6-7
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
When I was 29 years old, I was diagnosed with endometriosis… a disease in which pieces of the uterine lining “go rogue” and migrate to other parts of the body, attach and grow. This is very painful… and in my case, some of this tissue attached to my colon. The solution was a hysterectomy – removal of my reproductive organs. Doctors don’t like to perform this procedure on otherwise healthy women of child-bearing age. But in my case, there was no other option. In fact, I went into surgery knowing that part of my colon might have to be removed, as well… and thankfully that was not necessary.
This was a scary time for me and my family. It was also a time of calm and peace. Yes, I was nervous about major surgery. But I was so anxious to feel better… to be rid of the thing that caused me daily discomfort and distress. I still remember lying in the pre-op room while a nurse administered the first medications before anesthesia. My surgery had been delayed several hours because of some emergencies, and as the medication hit my system, my blood pressure bottomed out, and I was “gone!” When I came to, the nurse was frantically working to get me to speak. I think she thought she had killed me!
After determining that I was okay, the medical team continued their work, and I remember thinking, “I will either wake up in the recovery room… or in heaven… and either one is okay.” I was not the most mature Christian at 29, but I trusted God… and He carried me safely through that – and many scary days since!
You may have Philippians 4:6-7 before… it’s the “peace that passes all understanding” passage. But what does that mean? In this translation, we see this phrase explained as “a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good to settle you down.” In my case, God washed over me with a sense that everything was coming together as He wished… and I truly was settled down. More times than I can count, I have poured out my frustrations, fears, anxieties and distresses to God, and He has settled me. And the more I practice this… the easier it becomes.
I have told you that I have momentary times of panic…days when I am shrouded in worry, and the devil really does a number on me. But they are becoming more infrequent as I learn to walk more in the wholeness of God. I have to remind myself often that God is in control… because the devil is always right there shouting, “Yeah, but what about such-and-such? Shouldn’t you be upset about that?” If you ever pass me and I’m mumbling, “Go away, devil!”… you’ll know I am not talking to YOU!
I think it’s time we all had a “devil-ectomy!” Let’s remove the offending thing that causes us worry, pain and distress! Let’s shroud ourselves in the wholeness and operate in the inexplicable “peace that passes all understanding.” Haven’t you had enough? Aren’t you ready to settle down in the LORD? Isn’t today a great day to begin?
©2012 Debbie Robus
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