The New Loneliness DevotionalSample

His Calming Presence

If you’re like most believers today, you’ll say you know in your mind that God is in control, but you have a hard time relying on Him in your day-to-day life. And what I’ve observed after decades of ministry is that those who can’t bring that truth from their head to their heart—from the pages of God’s Word to their daily life—also admit they need to be in the Word of God more and know it better.

To know God is to know His Word. To know His Word is to know Him. I once heard my mentor author, Elisabeth Elliot, say, “Pray with an open Bible. How can we know what to pray if we aren’t reading God’s Word? And how can we understand God’s Word if we aren’t praying?”

The more you open up His Word, the more He will open your eyes and heart to know who He is and how He can calm your anxious heart.

The Peace That Comes Through His Word

Philippians 4:6-7 has been a lifeline for me through the years—especially because there is much to worry about:

When you’re contemplating decisions that will impact your future

When you’re seeking a man to marry—or struggling in your marriage

When you’re pregnant—or trying to get pregnant

When you’re caring for a child, parent, or grandparent

When you’re trying to stay afloat financially

When your health—or the health of someone you love—causes fear or frustration.

Life is often accompanied by concerns that quickly turn into worries that can develop into fear or anxiety. Yet God’s Word gives us a simple yet practical antidote to the type of worry that breeds fear.

Philippians 4:6-7 instructs: “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” (NLT).

The next verse tells us what exactly to focus on. Our worries over what hasn’t yet happened? The things we are anxious to control? The worst possible scenarios? No. “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (verse 8 NLT). We are to focus on what is true—or real, not on what we fear will happen. We are to focus on what is “pure, and lovely, and admirable.” Those descriptions sound like God’s characteristics, not our circumstances. As we focus on the here and now, the true and real, and all that God is, “then the God of peace will be with you” (verse 9 NLT).

A Prayer for the Anxious Heart

Are you wishing you were closer to God than you are right now? Do you long to feel less anxious and more at peace as you trust this capable God with your concerns? Then start now. Open your Bible to Philippians 4:6-9. Pray through the verses (which means reading the words aloud to God as a prayer, inserting your name and situation into the passage), and He will answer. This is a promise. It is a guarantee. And it is your route to rest, freedom, and peace.

Lord, help me not to worry about anything but to instead pray about everything. You know exactly what I need, and I thank You for working through this situation on my behalf. I trust Your promise to give me indescribable peace as I lay my concerns at Your feet and focus on what is real, pure, and admirable, like You.