How Am I With God?

“Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 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 4:4-7

My wife says that I worry about too many things.  When I was young, I was a worrywart.  As I have gotten older, I believe I have learned to worry about the big things instead of the little ones.  I focus on how my daughter’s schooling is, and how I can help her to perform better.  I look at my team and think about how I can help them get better.  I spend time with my wife, and ask how I can love her better.  There are things that I do not have control over that at times will overtake me and become one of those worries as well.  The political environment, a person afar who is struggling with something personal, and ‘are my grandchildren ok’ are all things that can float into my stratosphere of ‘worry,’ and it won’t let me go.  Notice all these things I mentioned, and there was one thing I did not mention; God.  How does that happen?  Shouldn’t my greatest worry be a simple question of, “How am I with God?”

We all need to add a level of intentionality where we can reconnect with God because with Him, we find true peace.  The dangers of worry are these: it takes time away from those things that matter most and prevents us from looking ahead.  In reading these verses, we are reminded of the importance of our relationship with Jesus Christ.  From Paul’s perspective, there are numerous keys to having a worry-free life.  “Being full of joy in the Lord,” speaks of knowing the Spirit of God flows through us.  Then pray.  It does not mean separate those things you control from those you don’t.  He says, “Pray about everything!”  Next, we are to tell God what we need, and be thankful for all He has done.  These must be done together.  If we are focused on just being thankful, we are not truly bringing everything to God, and if we only focus on what we want, we are not embracing all God has done to bring us to this point.  I read these verses over and over, and with each review, I felt closer to Him.  Furthermore, I felt I could earnestly go to God with the right heart and mindset (note the last part of the 7th verse).  Only there did I find my peace and connection with God.

In a world of chaos and mayhem, God is our oasis away from it all.  The prophet Isaiah said, “Open the gates to all who are righteous; allow the faithful to enter. You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (Isaiah 26:2-3)  There are so many things that can subtly but certainly distract us from God.  If we focus on those things that worry us, we will be unable to see what God has ahead for us.  Let us untie ourselves from those things that hinder us from connecting with Him and trust our worries through prayer to Him.  What things are most troubling you today?  What is it that you need to let go of and let God?  My prayer is we find serenity and peace through Him so we can answer the question, “How am I with God?”  Amen.