* Then

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. [emphasis mine]

Philippians 4:6-7 NLT

The world will tell you - it's not what you know, it's who you know that gets you through. Well, for once, I might have to agree at least in part with the world's take on that. For if we know the Great I AM, Jehovah Jireh, God our Provider, Maker of Heaven and Earth, Creator of Life, the One in whom we live and move and have our very being, AND then we tell Him what we need AND then CHOOSE to trust Him (trusting Him means we believe His Word over our circumstances) AND then THANK Him for all He has already done, THEN we will experience God's peace which exceeds anything we can understand.

In a time fraught with political upheaval and unrest and uncertainty, we are given a guarantee of peace. Our Promise for Today in Philippians echoes Isaiah 26:3, You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.

Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done, THEN you will experience God’s peace...

Prayer:

Father,

        We will tell You everything. We will let You know all that we need, trusting You to take care of us as we choose to submit our lives and our will to You. Lord, we KNOW it is You who has brought us through and it is You who will lead us safely home. And we give You praise and offer our requests with thanksgiving for all You've done for us, knowing that then we will experience Your peace. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

And Then... (reprint by request)

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
2nd Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT

It always amazes me how God orchestrates our lives and intertwines our lives together. He operates completely different from us - in action and in His way of thinking. Of course, He tells us exactly that in Isaiah 55 and yet, in hindsight, when I actually see all the connecting dots, it blows me away.

God not only sees the big picture; He IS the big picture. We tend to focus only on what's in front of us. How many times have you heard someone say I don't see God in this at all... And then, God is there.

Take Stephen, for example. When the apostles needed help with tending to widows and seeing to the practical needs of the church, Stephen was among the seven that were chosen. Actually, he was named first. Scripture tells us in the book of Acts that Stephen was full of faith and the Holy Spirit. Of course, we would choose him.

Further on in the chapter, we learn Stephen was full of God's grace and power and that no one could stand against his wisdom and the Spirit he had. Wow...no one could stand against his wisdom. Now, that's saying something! He even preached the Good News, and when he prayed for people, they were healed. Life was good. And then...

One minute, Stephen was in leadership, preaching the Gospel message of Jesus and laying hands on the sick and they were healed, and then someone lied about him. The next minute, he was brought before the religious leaders of the Temple (not to be confused with Jesus' disciples and leadership). He was accused, but according to the law, he had the opportunity to defend himself. And then, God made Stephen's face become as bright as an angel's face. Surely, that must have given his accusers pause.

Stephen answered his accusers by giving the history of Abraham and the covenant given to the Jewish people. Pretty impressive. He continued through to Moses and then to King David. So far, so good. The lies would surely be exposed. Stephen gets to the part about the Messiah descended from the line of David - all the things the high council learned in the Temple from the time they first attended...and then, that's when it got ugly. You can read about it in Acts 6 - 8.

It became a publicly announced kick-off event for the persecution of the church and the Christians. And then, some fled for their lives. And then, others were run out of town, but in their running, they also took with them the Good News and they spread the gospel of Christ throughout the world.

Oh, and then right before they stoned Stephen, his accusers laid their coats at the feet of man named Saul who was there to be a witness to Stephen's murder, and Saul became zealous in his persecution of the church and its members. The same Saul - who on the road to Damascus had a divine encounter with Jesus and then became Paul - who later wrote almost two-thirds of the New Testament....and then...

Prayer:

Father,
            We don't always understand the whys, the wherefores and the therefores, but we are so grateful for Your faithfulness to us. We want to be faithful to Your will for us. Help us to clearly see the way You would have us go and then strengthen and enable us to walk in it. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* Then You Will

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 NLT

If you've been a follower of Jesus Christ for very long, you are familiar with this passage - or at least part of it. We're very good about encouraging others not to worry because God provides peace that far surpasses the angst and full realm of our circumstances, and exceeds our ability to comprehend its' dominion. King James' reads, peace that passeth all understanding. And truly, it does.

However, we can't just grab that part out of the Scripture. It's not a stand-alone verse. God's peace is the result of following the instructions given for how to handle troublesome situations.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.
Tell God what you need
And thank Him for all He has done

THEN YOU WILL experience God's peace...

Worry is not trusting God. It's fear, which is opposite to faith. According to Hebrews 11:6, Without faith, it's impossible to please God.

What does God's Word have to say about the situation? Look it up. Research it. There are ample Bible tools online. We can even Google©, "What does the Bible say about _______?" That way, we can tell God what we need - according to what His Word says we need - with regard to the situation.

And thank Him for all He has done! To begin with, He gave us life! He has redeemed, restored, and resurrected us from our death-inducing sinful life!

THEN we will experience God's peace - the peace that will guard our hearts and minds as we live in Christ Jesus.

Prayer:

Father,
           Thank You for all You have done for us. Thank You that by Your grace and mercy, we are still drawing breath and have another opportunity to serve You. Thank You that Your mercies are new every morning and great is Your faithfulness! You are the Lord our God. Teach us. Cause Your Word to come alive in us so that we experience Your peace and fulfill Your purpose for our lives. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* Then

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. [emphasis mine]

Philippians 4:6-7 NLT

The world will tell you - it's not what you know, it's who you know that gets you through. Well, for once, I might have to agree at least in part with the world's take on that. For if we know the Great I AM, Jehovah Jireh, God our Provider, Maker of Heaven and Earth, Creator of Life, the One in whom we live and move and have our very being, AND then we tell Him what we need AND then CHOOSE to trust Him (trusting Him means we believe His Word over our circumstances) AND then THANK Him for all He has already done, THEN we will experience God's peace which exceeds anything we can understand.

In a time fraught with political upheaval and unrest and uncertainty, we are given a guarantee of peace. Our Promise for Today in Philippians echoes Isaiah 26:3, You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.

Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done, THEN you will experience God’s peace...

Prayer:

Father,

        We will tell You everything. We will let You know all that we need, trusting You to take care of us as we choose to submit our lives and our will to You. Lord, we KNOW it is You who has brought us through and it is You who will lead us safely home. And we give You praise and offer our requests with thanksgiving for all You've done for us, knowing that then we will experience Your peace. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen