A Recipe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8sazOiolF8

Desert Road ~ Casting Crowns

 

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. ~ Philippians 4:9 NIV

 

Have I told you my oatmeal cookie story? One day, while baking oatmeal cookies, I learned the difference between baking soda and baking powder. While both are white powders, one gives oatmeal cookies and the other gives oatmeal goo.

 

Lately, God keeps bringing me back to Philippians 4:4-9. Five of the six verses are about your focus and thoughts. I need this constant reminder because my mind continuously tries to wander. It’s remarkable how many “needs” come to mind when I try to have time with God: need to review the budget, need to exercise, need to make tea, need to mail a letter, need to make plans, etc.  The devil knows that just like baking power and baking soda don’t give the same results, neither do a wandering mind and a mind set on Christ. One results in warm goo, while the other in delightful treats.

 

Just to be clear, God designed our minds to be curious. Both Jeremiah 31:13 and Matthew 6:33 call us to seek God. But the devil corrupts what God creates, which is why our minds wander, wonder, and worry when we should be seeking Him.

 

My hope in sharing this is to point you to Jesus, the One who holds our peace. If you need a recipe to help, I’ve been trying to follow this one:

1.       Rejoice always.

a.       Write down what the Lord’s done for you lately.

2.       Let your gentleness shine.

a.       Point others to Jesus.

3.       Be anxious for nothing.

a.       Write down your cares and worries, that way you won’t have to try to remember them anymore.

4.       Walk in God’s peace.

a.       Decide to choose peace over worry.

5.       Choose your thoughts.

a.       Make a list of the virtues found in Philippians 4:8, so that when chaos comes, your thoughts have a place of truth on which to land.

6.       Practice these things, remembering the God of peace will be with you.

 

Father, forgive my wandering, wondering, worrying mind. Holy Spirit, keep this “recipe” in the forefront of my mind, so that insecurity, complaining, doubt, and worry don’t overtake me. I long and love to be used by You. Keep me seeking after and focused on You. And when I mess up, remind me that the God of peace is with me. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

©Heather Potts 2023

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Be Anxious for Nothing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_7XIKVgRGY

Letting Go ~ Steffany Gretzinger

 

Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything… ~ Philippians 4:6 AMPC

Do not be anxious about anything… ~ NIV

Be careful for nothing… ~ KJV

 

“Be careful” or “be anxious” is from a Greek word meaning, “to be troubled with cares,” (blueletterbible.org).

“Troubled” means, “to be stressed or agitated mentally,” (dictionary.com).

“Nothing” means, “nothing; no thing; not anything,” (blueletterbible.org).

 

Be anxious—troubled; stressed or agitated mentally—with the cares of nothing—not anything.

 

Philippians 4:6 is a command. This command is a personal, plural imperative. You—all of you reading this—do it. Decide. Choose and follow-through. The follow-through, however, is not a physical action. It’s a mental focus shift. You’re not physically picking out your clothes. You’re mentally picking out your thoughts. Instead of shorts or jeans, you’re choosing to worry and have distress—or to not worry and not have distress, or other mental agitation.

 

When God gives a command, He knows He’s enabled us to do it.

 

This is the mental shift, where the rubber meets the road.

Step 1: Rejoice always!

Step 2: Let your gentleness shine.

Step 3: Be anxious for nothing.

 

Choose to be anxious for no thing. Decide to not be troubled with the cares of anything.

 

God’s not calling us to be uncaring. He’s calling us to not get bogged down in worrying about the people and things about which we care. He’s setting us up for success. To get there, however, we must each choose to follow through on His command. We must choose to be anxious for nothing.

©Heather Potts 2023

Hoisted

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TzB4FaPODc

Anchor ~ Skillet

Swirling, pulling, dragging me down, the waves are churning all around. Fear and anxiety bind my arms and legs, sucking me down and down in a whirlpool of worry. I have taken my eyes off of my Lord—off of my Jesus. I’m so sorry. Sorry I made the fear and circumstances higher than You. Forgive me. Like a flash of light, His anchor of hope is thrust into the water, breaking up the ties that bind me. I am freed and grab hold of Him, my Anchor of Hope. Holding tightly, the Anchor is hoisted from the churning seas. As I cling tightly to my Anchor, I see the storm rage on all around—the clouds black as night, the seas churning and swirling, the waves slapping, the rains driving—but I am kept safe. I cling to my Anchor, my Love, my Hope, my Father, who is strong, firm, and steadfast.

When we take our eyes off of Jesus—even but a moment—we can get caught up in the waves of worry and the riptides of fear and anxiety which eventually suck us into a whirlpool, dragging us down, down until we are lost. But turning our hearts back to Jesus, we can hold to His hope and peace. If you’ve been caught by the whirlpool of worry with fear and anxiety binding you, turn your heart and your eyes back toward your Anchor of Hope, cling to Him, and He will lift you from the sea.

We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us ~ Hebrews 6:18-20 MSG

©Heather Potts 2020