6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 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.”
I was replacing a faucet recently, and I was having trouble getting the plastic nuts backed off under the sink. I was using a crescent wrench and having no luck at all. I knew I was supposed to get this done, but these plastic nuts were making it harder than it needed to be. I started to panic a bit, thinking, “What do I do now?” My buddy came in and looked at the dilemma and said, “They make a wrench for that.” We got the wrench, and it made the job so much easier. I was worried about nothing after all. All I needed was the right tool.
Paul is speaking to the Philippian church here in our verse. It is a famous verse that gets repeated many times in many ways. I like it because it starts out by telling us to “Don’t worry…” and then says, “about anything.” Anything is anything. The definition of anything is, “used to refer to a thing, no matter what.” I still ask myself the question, “Am I worried about anything?” The verse doesn’t stop there. It goes on to tell us, “Instead, pray about everything.” Everything is everything. Just like anything, it pretty much sums up just about all of it, no matter what “it” is.
The instructions go on to say we should tell God what we need and thank him for all he has done. One thing that strikes me is that it does not say to tell God what we need and wait for the answer. Instead, the A+B=C moment is telling God what we need and thanking him for all he has done. The C, the answer, is that we will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything, there it is again, we can understand. This peace will guard your heart and mind as you live, not search for the answer, in Christ Jesus.
Today, think about everything you are worried about. This might take a moment or two. You might want to write them down on paper just to take a good, hard look at all of it. Ask yourself, “Does anything include these things?” The answer is yes; it does to all of it. Next, take “everything” you are worried about and pray about it. Give it to the Lord. Take your hands holding that sheet of paper and lift it up to the Lord and say, “I give all of this to you, Father.”
God’s peace is waiting to guard your heart and mind as you continue to live in Christ Jesus. If the thoughts of “anything” come back over the days, just repeat the prayer above. Just like I needed the right tool for the job, God is giving you the tools to take care of all that “anything” that might be keeping you down. Peace is waiting on you. Take the tools and use them.
Prayer: Father, too often we let all the cares of this world take us down. I pray today that I will take the tools of prayer and living in Christ to heart. I pray and know that you will cover me with peace that passes even my understanding. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let It Go 
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