August 25, 2022 8:00 pm
The gleeful shouts arising from our basement came from my wife, Shirley. For hours she’d wrestled with a newsletter project, and she was ready to be done with it. In her anxiety and uncertainty about how to move forward, she prayed for God’s help. She also reached out to Facebook friends and soon the project was completed—a team effort.
While a newsletter project is a little thing in life, small (and not so small) things can bring about worry or anxiousness. Perhaps you’re a parent walking through the stages of childrearing for the first time; a student facing newfound academic challenges; a person grieving the loss of a loved one; or someone experiencing a home, work, or ministry challenge. Sometimes we’re needlessly on edge because we don’t ask God for help (James 4:2).
Paul pointed the followers of Jesus in Philippi—and us—to our first line of defense in times of need: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). When life gets complicated, we need reminders like the one from the hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”: Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.
And perhaps in our asking God for help, He’ll lead us to ask people who can assist us.
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Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.
I'm Arthur Jackson and I titled our reading, Just Ask. The gleeful shouts arising from our basement came from my wife Shirley. For hours she'd wrestled with a newsletter project and she was ready to be done with it. In her anxiety and uncertainty about how to move forward, she prayed for God's help. She also reached out to Facebook friends and soon the project was completed. A team effort.
While a newsletter project is a little thing in life, small and not so small things can bring about worry or anxiousness. Perhaps you're a parent walking through the stages of child rearing for the first time. A student facing newfound academic challenges, a person grieving the loss of a loved one, or someone experiencing a home, work, or ministry challenge. Sometimes we're needlessly on edge because we don't ask God for help. Paul pointed the followers of Jesus and Philippi and us to our first line of defense in times of need, saying, Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God. When life gets complicated, we need reminders like the one from the hymn, What a Friend We Have in Jesus. Oh, what peace we often forfeit!
Oh, what needless pain we bear! All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. And perhaps in our asking God for help, He'll lead us to ask people who can assist us. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Philippians chapter 4 verses 4 to 7. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again.
Rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Shall we pray? Father, forgive us for not bringing everything to You in prayer, including our burdens and fears. Help us to not hesitate to reach out to others and ask for their help too. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. My name is Arthur Jackson and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-03-05 21:58:56 / 2023-03-05 22:00:20 / 1
