FRIDAY, February 19

Philippians 4:1-9. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanks-giving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing...if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Anxiety is a kind of fear--not of God, but of the unknown future. It is unreality. We draw the unreal future into the present and proceed to stab ourselves with it.

How passionately Jesus strove to overcome our delusion of crossing bridges before we come to them! Imagine an able and loving father whose children ran about in panic lest next year they might not have food to eat or clothes to wear.

Anxiety is a symptom. The disease is mis¬trust of our heavenly Father. The cure is to look around and see what he has done for us already and to thank him for it. How many lovely things, how much to praise him for! If anything is needed, ask: and then leave it to God. If he doesn't give it, so much the better. It wasn't needed. What God always will give--if we trust him--is his peace, the best gift. (1946)

PRAY for the Diocese of Bath and Wells (Canterbury, England)

Ps 95 & 31 * 35; Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32; John 17:9-19

View the daily Lectionary Readings at Satucket.com.
Or view the Bible passages at Biblegateway.com.

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Feb 19, 2010 at 7:34 am

Written by Andrea,

I love the description of anxiety as something unreal we create ... and then stab ourselves with. Both the reading and the meditation speak to me about one of my own worst character defects, that of being anxious, of wanting to control the future - which works against my relationship with God and is impossible anyway. But I also have to say that I am left a little cold by the middle of the last paragraph. From the perspective of post-war abundance, sure, it makes sense. But I wonder how the poor and the sick and the oppressed would feel about such a cavalier statement that if they don't get what they've prayed for, well, they must not really need it? Maybe another way to see this, in line with the overall discussion of giving up anxiety, is that none of us can possibly know the mind of God, and we need to trust that God is good, all the time, even if we can't understand how what is happening could possibly reflect that.

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Feb 19, 2010 at 7:42 am

Written by Junelle,

This passage from Philippians is one of my favorite scriptures. It reminds me to stay positive, but does not in any way discount intercessory prayers or concerns for others less fortunate than me.

A word in season

Feb 19, 2010 at 3:30 pm

Written by PJ,

I read the lessons having just listened to Tiger Wood's outpouring of regret and sorrow, realizing his need to turn and begin again. The Ezekiel scripture (verses 27, 28, 21) and particularly, “Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live…” struck me as apposite and one cannot help but pray for him to find the right path to wholeness.

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