Give Me Your Anxious Thoughts

You know the feeling. You are trying to lie still and rest. You want to sleep, but sleep won’t come because thoughts are racing through your head faster than cars on a speedway. These are often anxious thoughts, and usually concern things over which you have no control. Past regrets and future uncertainties, like thieves in the night, rob us of peace in the present. Recently in just such a time, the Lord spoke into my heart, “Give me your anxious thoughts.”
The words God impressed on me are words He has graphically imprinted on the pages of His inspired Word. God’s prescription for peace is well described by Paul in Philippians. “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.” (Phil. 4:6-7)
There are a few things that stand out to me in that passage. “Be anxious for nothing” tells me that we should be anxious for nothing because anxiety is good for nothing. I also gather that we should pour out before God all that is making us anxious. Hold nothing back. He won’t be shocked. We do so with thanksgiving because God has invited us to come boldly to His gracious throne when we have any trouble. We make our requests known to God, not because He doesn’t know, but because we need to let go.
It is well worth following God’s invitation to give Him our anxious thoughts. There is a pay off, and it is the promise of peace. It is a peace beyond anything the world offers, for it comes from the Prince of Peace. His peace defies description because it is beyond understanding. It guards the heart and the mind. And if we allow it to do so, will keep us from the harm done by anxious thoughts.

-Terry Morrison