 "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."
(Phil 4:6-7
NIV)
I
enjoy puttering in the
yard, so clipping the
rose bushes was enjoyable.
I picked up the clippings,
discarded them and removed
my “yard”
clothes and shoes. A
problem happened a few
days later as I was
puttering in the yard
barefooted. I stepped
into the rose garden
to pick up a few dead
clippings I had missed
and I felt the sting
of the thorn even as
it pushed through the
bottom of my foot. Limping
away, I assumed it would
work itself out. No
such luck. By that evening
the spot was very sore
and red, and I could
see a small black dot
(thorn) imbedded in
the sole of my foot.
“Time
to get the needle out,”
I thought.
I
prodded and picked,
only pushing it deeper
into my foot. "Ouch!
That really hurts,”
I thought, as I now
could bear no weight
upon my heel.
Something
so small… causing
so much pain. The pain
was personified with
each step I took. I
actually had to limp
around the rest of the
day. I tried several
other remedies to rid
myself of the painful
thorn which had invaded
my body, and, finally
it worked itself out.
I
have also had a thorn
of anxiety in my life.
Have you? Something
unwanted invades your
life and…boom!....the
pain begins. Self help
methods didn’t
remove the thorn of
anxiety. Reading the
Bible didn’t help,
either.(sorry to say)
Listening to praise
music, or singing praise
choruses weren’t
working either. Prayers
of friends were appreciated,
but didn’t seem
to cure my pain. Meditating
on a particular scripture
was beneficial, but
the thorn of anxiety
still remained. I was
limping around in my
daily existence, feeling
the pain of the thorn
of anxiety. I knew what
I had to do, and finally-
once and for all- I
gave my thorn of anxiety
to God. I asked for
His peace to fill me
and to realize- once
again- He was, and IS
, in control.
Jesus
told us: “Be
anxious for nothing”.
In this life we are
hit with circumstances
from right and left
that can cause us mild-severe
anxiety. No matter the
size, the cause, the
circumstance, the bleak
outlook or the weight
we feel on our shoulders,
we HAVE to “give
it to God” (problem)
and allow Him to take
care of it.
Amen?
Amen.
Marion
Smith |
