This morning we listened to a sermon about turning worries into prayer. The verse given was Philippians 4:6-7:
At the end, we each closed our eyes and took a few minutes to meditate on a situation that had been leading us to worry. I had a few to choose from, being quite the pro at worrying. But one stood out from the others: moving to Senegal in two years. This was my biggest sleep-loser.
But this time, rather than focus on the worrisome details, I pictured what God might do in the situation...
I saw Jonathan using his hands to treat patients in pain... I saw us speaking languages we don't even know yet, becoming friends with our neighbors... I saw us working with Talibe street kids, washing their clothes and cleaning wounds... I saw Jonathan building relationships with people in the medical community and me with American expats who needed help adjusting to their new life... I saw our kids playing with Senegalese kids and translating for health clinics... I saw us returning to the friends we'd left four years ago and them understanding how much we love them... I saw us being used to show God's love to people who don't yet know it...
With each image that came across my mind, more tears flowed. It was a joy that I admit I haven't felt in a long time because I allowed worry and fear to overtake it.
God hasn't brought me to this place in life to abandon me at the next step.
God has great things in store for me.
God can turn every image I saw into reality.
God can fulfill the desires and dreams I didn't even know were in my heart, but He knew because He placed them there.
Now I see.
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.In the original Greek text, this is basically three different ways of saying, "pray, pray and pray". In the sermon, Ken went on to explain that one way to pray, inspired by the Old Testament, is meditation. Where worrying is picturing the future without God, meditating is picturing how God could move and act in the same situation. (I really encourage you to listen to the sermon.)
At the end, we each closed our eyes and took a few minutes to meditate on a situation that had been leading us to worry. I had a few to choose from, being quite the pro at worrying. But one stood out from the others: moving to Senegal in two years. This was my biggest sleep-loser.
But this time, rather than focus on the worrisome details, I pictured what God might do in the situation...
I saw Jonathan using his hands to treat patients in pain... I saw us speaking languages we don't even know yet, becoming friends with our neighbors... I saw us working with Talibe street kids, washing their clothes and cleaning wounds... I saw Jonathan building relationships with people in the medical community and me with American expats who needed help adjusting to their new life... I saw our kids playing with Senegalese kids and translating for health clinics... I saw us returning to the friends we'd left four years ago and them understanding how much we love them... I saw us being used to show God's love to people who don't yet know it...
With each image that came across my mind, more tears flowed. It was a joy that I admit I haven't felt in a long time because I allowed worry and fear to overtake it.
God hasn't brought me to this place in life to abandon me at the next step.
God has great things in store for me.
God can turn every image I saw into reality.
God can fulfill the desires and dreams I didn't even know were in my heart, but He knew because He placed them there.
Now I see.
