Blog

• peace

Jittery. Accelerated. Nervous. Stressed. Overwhelmed. Unsettled.

These and other words can be used to describe how I feel when I am anxious. And as students, teachers, and parents, begin the new school year, anxious feelings abound for many.

What do you do when you are anxious? It is not as simple as saying “Don’t be anxious about anything…” However, Philippians 4:6-7 does not end there. “…but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

And the promise? “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

By saying that we shouldn’t be anxious about anything, Paul acknowledges that it is a real struggle, but he carries it a step further and provides a recipe for peace.

We can transform our anxious thoughts into anxious prayers, which become transformed into peaceful prayers.

Amazing how restorative prayer time with our loving heavenly Father can be.

Which end of the spectrum are your prayers on today? Anxious or peaceful? Paul provides an invitation for transformation—made possible when we, in every situation, with thanksgiving, present our requests to God.

• In God's Right Hand

As daughters of the King, securely upheld in his right hand, whom shall we fear? Nothing! Affirmed through a vivid description of our heavenly Father that transcends the Old and New Testament, God’s right hand is a special place of honor from which he demonstrates power and authority, promises protection and salvation, and provides a source of strength. God’s righteous right hand is also where Jesus sits to intercede for us!

These are truths on which we can rely! His right hand is where we can
securely rest, peaceful in the protection he provides, free of fear, and filled with hope.

With only one minor edit, I want to share the following song with you that I wrote my senior year of college. It is my prayerful invitation to join hands together with God and one another as we continue on the journey.

God’s Right Hand We Hold

Will you think and pray for me

As I think and pray for you?

While we’re apart in time and space

It’s all that we can do.

Chorus:

Our lives are held in God’s hands,

He is in control.

When so many things tear us away,

God’s right hand we hold.

We both call God our Father,

Our bond is more than friends.

And through the blood of Jesus,

The friendship never ends.

P.S. A very special birthday shout-out to my mom, Jocelynn Goff, who has always encouraged me to cling to God's capable hand.