Be Still Devotional: Day 13

Devotion for Wednesday February 26
Jennifer Dennis | Kids Executive Director

Scripture
Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Devotional Thought
It took some coaxing for me to agree to see Inside Out 2. I sobbed through the first Inside Out, so I expected some tears from the sequel as well. Afterall, it’s a story exploring how our emotions impact our decisions, our memories, our perception of life. The emotions are actual characters: Sadness, Anger, Joy, and so on.

They added a new character in this one: Anxiety. At first, Anxiety was just a little nervous, energized, character with some funny lines, but as the movie moves forward, we see the full impact that Anxiety has in stressful situations. In one powerful scene, Anxiety hijacks the imagination part of the brain. She was able to take imagination, which should be creative, and turn it into a fear-making machine. It hit me right in the face. Anxiety could do the same thing to me! God gives us these incredible imaginations, and they can turn into a power for creating negative outcomes, assuming poor intentions, and worst-case scenarios! God never intended us to live anxious ridden lives!

In Philippians, Paul says to worry about anything! Put everything in God’s hands. He asks us to put forth our requests to Him with Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving part is so powerful because it builds our faith. It requires that we remember what He has done for us in the past, who He is, and how much He loves us.  And in return, He gives us peace, a peace that surpasses understanding, a peace that will guard our hearts and our minds!

We are learning more and more about what stress does to our bodies, what anxiety does to our minds, and it is terrible. But we have a powerful Creator who has given us perfect peace inside and out!

Reflection Questions

• How does anxiety impact your gratitude and joy?
• Have you spent time giving your fears and worries to God?

Suggested prayer/action step
Keep a prayer journal to collect the answers to prayers over the years. It will become a beautiful record of God’s goodness and miracles.