Prayer and Thanksgiving
Day 1: The path to peace
The apostle Paul knew of which he spoke. He had firsthand experience of all sorts of monumental events, uncertainties, troubles and anxieties. Yet, he wrote to the Philippian believers: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Philippians 4:6).
The New Living translation expresses it very simply: Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.
According to Paul, herein is the “path to peace”: 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 4:7 – NLT).
This echoes the promise the Lord Jesus made to His disciples: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 6:33).
With all that is swirling around us in the world, it is often tempting to give in to heaviness and despair. But Jesus calls us to "take heart." He calls us to be the salt of the earth... the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-14).
I am reminded of a short fable in one of our early Caribbean Readers. One day, a donkey, carrying a heavy load of salt, needed to cross a stream. He slipped on rocks and fell into the water. When he emerged and continued on his journey, he found that the load was considerably lighter than before his plunge into the water.
The next day, the donkey came to the stream again. This time, he was carrying a load of sponges. Remembering what had happened the previous day, he walked to the middle of the stream and plopped himself down. Imagine his surprise and dismay when he stumbled out of the water with a load much heavier than it was initially!
In a manner of speaking, we are like that donkey. We can choose to pour our healing consignment of salt on the troubled waters around us. Or we can deliberately delve into the pools and eddies and currents of strife, soaking up fear, acrimony, negativity, and distrust.
I believe our own load, and that of others around us will be lightened as we choose to plunge into streams of mercy and grace, as we seek to immerse ourselves in God's truth and His kingdom— as we pray and seek the path of peace and uncover it for others around us. We have already been given the next steps:
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness (Colossians 2:6-7).
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