Lesson 16: Be Joyful in the Lord in all Circumstances
“Be anxious for nothing but in all things by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your requests known to God, and the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Worry and anxiety are self-centered and unproductive, except for genuine concern over the spread of the Gospel. Worry and anxiety, and prayer, are opposing forces in the life of the Christian; but prayer with supplication and thanksgiving, is an antidote for worry. If we bring all our requests before God, we can leave them all with Him and worry about them no more. We don’t fully understand the scope of God’s care; his protective custody over the believer goes to our innermost being and our deepest intentions. We need to take every thought captive and surrender it to Jesus Christ. We need to reflect on holy righteous things, and good things which will help us to develop healthy thought patterns, which will lead us to a life of moral and spiritual excellence.