Daily Devotion - Tuesday, February 23

Anxious and Trusting

“Have no anxiety about anything,
but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
--Paul’s letter to the Philippian church, chapter 4

The opening words of today’s text do not seem appropriate. Anxiety is a natural thing when life is not ordered and controlled. In hospital life we encounter patients and families (and even sometimes one another) whose anxiety levels are high. It seems to me that the helpful, interpretive word for life in places like a hospital might be: “Having anxiety is understandable; letting your anxiety drive you may not be helpful.”

Paul offers an alternative to anxious, tense, stress-filled and self-destructive tendencies. The alternative is not a shield from the uncertainties we face; it is a source of protection when we find our lives disrupted. The alternative is not an exemption; it is a comfort when we find the puzzle difficult. The alternative is not a magical wand for the disturbing condition; it offers a calming effect when everything appears fragile and tenuous. The alternative: “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

This radical alternative can be a most appropriate resource for moments of anxiety. Releasing our requests to God is a statement of trust, releasing our total being into the arms of the Holy One. Such trust can be liberating and empowering.

A prayer: God, whom I trust, I release my anxious inner being to you. Amen.

--Ben Keckler
02.23.10