RESTRUCTURE - Part 1

How do we live joyful lives when we go through extremely difficult times in our lives and in our ministries? We saw from Philippians 4:4 the need to REJOICE! We saw from Philippians 4:5 the need to RESPOND! Today we see the third need. From Philippians 4:6-7 we learn of our need to RESTRUCTURE! This restructuring has two aspects.

First, we must turn our anxiety into PRAYER! Philippians 4:6 has a negative command followed by a positive command. Negatively, we are to "be anxious for nothing!" The word "anxious" means to be distracted or to feel pulled in two different directions.

This negative command is then followed by a positive command. Instead of being anxious about the issues we are facing in our lives and in our ministries, we are to turn our worry list into our prayer list. Let me paraphrase it this way:

"WORRY about NOTHING! PRAY about EVERYTHING!"

STOP worrying! START praying! Jesus made it clear that worrying can accomplish nothing (see Matthew 6:27). Imagine what could happen if you took all the time and energy you are spending worrying about your challenges and instead used that time and energy to pray about those challenges. After all, nothing of eternal importance happens apart from prayer.

This restructuring of turning our anxiety into prayer involves three elements. I will share these three elements in my next posting.

Be sure to read my other blog at www.folkslisten.blogspot.com. You can leave a comment at either blog or email me directly at skdistler@gmail.com.