As I turned on my computer this morning I read a friend's devotion. Andy Stoddard is the pastor of Asbury UMC in Petal, MS, and I'd like to share his thoughts with you today as my "Thought of the Day !!". Enjoy.

In the love of Christ,
greg




Don't worry about it. That's one of my favorite phrases. The other may be "it is what it is." Or I guess "Hotty Toddy." One of those is definitely my favorite phrase!

I say don't worry about it to a lot to people. I say it in meetings when we are thinking through a situation. I say it when I'm talking to people about situations they are going through. I say it to families when we are looking towards the future. I say it a lot.

And I mean it too. When I tell people not to worry about it, I mean that, I believe that, and I trust it be true.

I just wish I could do a better job of not worrying about it myself. I'm a worrier. But, at least I get it honest. My mama is, and her mama was, and I guess in our family it's just a family tradition.

That's why reading verses like this one of our Philippians 4 is always such a good reminder to me:

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.

We can't "will" ourselves to not worry. Not worrying comes through prayer. By giving everything to God, we experience God's grace. And in receiving that grace, we find that peace guards our hearts, and we don't have anything to worry about.

So, the first step shouldn't be "don't worry about it." The first step should be "take it to God in prayer." And when we take it to Him in prayer, we find grace.

And grace brings about peace.

And peace keeps us from worry.

So, today, don't worry about it. But, before you can do that, take it to God in prayer. And through that prayer, we will find all that we ever need.

For every last worry.