Do Not Be Anxious

It's that time of the semester; projects are due, finals are coming fast, all-nighters are typical for most college students (atleast the ones I know). Being worried is something that is easily fallen into. [aka "stress"]

The last couple of weeks in our church we've been looking at "What is Prayer?" and we have further talked about it in our college group. We talked about different ways we are prone to get anxious and worried. Some specifics for me right now are these:

Will I be able to get everything done by next week?
Will I be able to get a a new job soon?
And the biggest one: What if I don't get transferred to UF?!

These things are on my mind frequently right now. Specifically that last one. I have started feeling really anxious about getting accepted into UF, especially after all that I'm doing to prepare (Fall 09 is my hope). I was convicted about how much I analyze the statistics "Only EIGHTTEEN people get accepted in a given term" rather than considering "My God is so much bigger than that". I'm having to challenge myself to see if I'm becoming too dependent on my own strength rather than submit my thoughts in prayer to the Lord. Is this even the path that God has for me?

But I also had become numb to the fact that the Bible clearly tells us NOT to worry about ANYTHING.

Phil. 4 - 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

And several times Jesus talks about anxiousness, for instance in Luke 12 -

22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!"

He goes on to say in verse 31 - Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

What a promise we have in the Word of God! He not only loves us and will take care of us, but he has opened up for us the honor of bringing our every thought to Him in prayer!

As Mr. Courson said, we can go from anxious and worried to peace of God through our prayer to Him!

A question to ask ourselves:
- Do I believe that at any moment, God can change my situation?
With one command He calmed a raging storm. Why do we limit God in our minds?
By being anxious about something, we are functionally not trusting in God and his sovereignty over our lives. Wow!

So, my prayer is that I will be able to humble myself before the Lord daily, submitting my worries to Him -the Creator of all - and stop relying on this self-sufficiency to stumble through my day.

And how kind of God!