-Do not be anxious about anything.
-Present requests with gratitude.
-Think about things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise.
These are what you might call statements of “good advice”. And all of these questions can easily be followed with a big fat “WHY?” Why should I not be anxious about anything when there are plenty of things in the world to be anxious about? Why should I be grateful when I ask for things I need because clearly I don’t have enough to be grateful for? Why should I think about all of those things (true, honorable, just, etc.) when our culture is telling me to fill my head with thoughts and ideas that are quite the opposite?
Jesus is the ultimate “keeper of the why”. These statements are good advice BECAUSE of the good news!! And the piece of the good news that is the most important right here is that the Lord is near!!! Because the Lord is near (both in space and time), it is possible to live a life where we are not anxious about anything. It is possible to know real joy and respond with real gentleness. Because the Lord is near, presenting our requests with gratitude helps put our needs in perspective. When we think about things that are true/honorable/just/etc., we are really thinking about Jesus because Jesus is truth and honor and just and pure and lovely and commendable and excellent and worthy of praise.
Why worry when you can pray? Praying that we would simply dwell on Jesus when we find ourselves becoming anxious because the Lord is so very near.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.