By: Erlinda Mejia-Olson
PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7 ~ "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Not counting the miles and extensive hours of driving—traveling can be a very eventful experience. By the grace of God, I've been very grateful for the strength and courage He has blessed David to bring us as far to Glacier National Park along Highway 2 in upper Northern Montana, on our way to the city of Havre. As much as he wanted to go on but he needed to park. It was one of the strangest experience I've found myself in—waking up in Glacier National Park, and then it was my turn to drive! Thoughts were juggling in my half awake mind. When reality finally hit, I realized I had no time to procrastinate... that I had to wake up if I wanted us to make it through this narrow, winding road up on the mountains—I tried not to mind the scary ravine, the black ice, and the fog which cut-off my visibility. Despite of the fear I felt, I thought of the Scripture in Joshua 1:9 that says, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." I kept thinking of this verse over and over again while I was admiring God's beauty through His immaculate creation; then we slowly descended back to the freeway.
PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7 ~ "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Not counting the miles and extensive hours of driving—traveling can be a very eventful experience. By the grace of God, I've been very grateful for the strength and courage He has blessed David to bring us as far to Glacier National Park along Highway 2 in upper Northern Montana, on our way to the city of Havre. As much as he wanted to go on but he needed to park. It was one of the strangest experience I've found myself in—waking up in Glacier National Park, and then it was my turn to drive! Thoughts were juggling in my half awake mind. When reality finally hit, I realized I had no time to procrastinate... that I had to wake up if I wanted us to make it through this narrow, winding road up on the mountains—I tried not to mind the scary ravine, the black ice, and the fog which cut-off my visibility. Despite of the fear I felt, I thought of the Scripture in Joshua 1:9 that says, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." I kept thinking of this verse over and over again while I was admiring God's beauty through His immaculate creation; then we slowly descended back to the freeway.
Corrie Ten Boom once asked, "Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?" What a poignant question! So often, we hold tightly to our concerns and worries, only releasing them to God in prayer when we can absolutely no longer control them. But the Bible tells us that instead of worrying about things, we should pray and ask God for everything we need. Taking our needs to God first rather than as a last resort. It ensures us peace beyond understanding. God doesn't want us to be anxious, to become impatient, nor worry—for worrying doesn't add one cubit to our stature (Matthew 6:27). He gives us His assurance in Philippians 4:6-7 and Philippians 4:19.
Depend on prayer daily as a means for guidance and direction in your life—steering wheel of sorts—and you won't find yourself turning to God as a last resort. Begins and ends with God ... it's a humbling connection.
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" (Matthew 6:25-30).
