Trust is Faith

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

That verse sounds so simple.

To some it sounds like “Don’t worry – be happy!” but I think that misses the mark. It doesn’t say ask God and it will happen. It says to put your requests before God and then you will have His peace to guard your heart and minds. Why do they need guarding? Because when I submit MY requests and desires I have to be prepared that they won’t match up with what He knows is best for me.

“But what if…” those three words can be very dangerous if I use them to start doubting God. There will be a battle raging in my mind if I don’t allow the peace of God to guard and reign in my thought life. That is where the enemy seeks to gain a foothold – if he can disrupt our thought life, that will then cause us to be filled with worry and strife, and then it will filter down to our speech and actions.

This section of Paul’s letter (He didn’t write in chapters!!) is really all about rejoicing in times of anxiety, and where our true strength & peace comes from. Paul, sitting in prison and uncertain of his future was writing to the church telling THEM not to worry! Incredible.

It sounds so easy to do, but it’s one of the hardest things for me, and I suspect for many of us if we are honest with ourselves. It’s our life and we know what would be perfect for us, right? If I’ve submitted my plans and desires to Him, but what if they don’t come about? I’ve had many seasons of living in doubt through my life, wondering if I’ve made the right decision about this or that, but when I look back, I can see that He was with me all the way even in those moments and times when it sure felt like He wasn’t there.

We have to keep placing this before Him, as well as to silence the lies of the enemy who would seek to stir up thoughts in our minds that run counter to the Word of God. It’s not for us to tell God what to do, but to simply place our requests before Him.

Our human nature when we deal with others is that we need them to demonstrate they are trust-worthy before we trust them, but that isn’t how God works. He asks us to use Faith, which is really a form of Trust in those moments when we don’t feel like trusting Him. When someone says to you “have faith in me” what they are really saying is trust me even though you don’t feel like it right now. This passage in Philippians is at the heart about not only placing your requests before Him, but exercising my faith in Him to know that he has my best interests at heart.

Trust. Faith. Belief. Peace.