Sunday Scripture III

A good friend of mine asked for a scripture concerning worry.

I know one well... I speak it to myself when I get to worrying too much!

"Be careful about nothing"

I knew it was off in the new testament, in the book of Phillipians. So I went and looked it up for her and emailed it to her.

As a matter of fact, that is exactly what the King James version says:

KJV

Phillipians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

That verse is interesting... it means don't worry about stuff, but just pray about it.

I sent this to my friend.

Now... let me go back to January.

Back in January, we had a church fast. As a part of that, we were asked to spend an hour praying every day.

Interesting. I was a tad bit concerned by that, because you know, just being honest here... I have other things to do. An hour is A LOT of time.

But I challenged myself. I could get up an hour earlier every morning and pray.

Something really wierd happened behind that. Very odd.

I had a lot of peace during that time.

And it wasn't a normal level of peace. It was something that I couldn't understand, couldn't explain.

I think I talked to my coworker about it... She was doing something similar.

I asked, "Is it just me, or is it a different type of peace going on."

It was hard to explain to her. Shoot man, I couldn't even explain it to myself.

She basically agreed with me... Made me feel a little better.

Made me think "Uh, yeah... I need to keep my prayer life consistent!"

My mind was VERY quiet during that time. Wasn't worried about a doggone thing. If issues came up, I kind of just shrugged.

"It'll work itself out."
"How?" someone would ask.
"I don't know. Just know it will be okay."

Hmm...

NOW... going back to that scripture. When I was looking up the verse to send to my friend, I decided to read that very next verse that followed behind it.

And I saw something that peaked my interest, raised my eyebrows...

King James Version

Phillipans 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Now, I'm not big on the King James version. I don't talk like that. I try to read the versions that kick me in my teeth a bit. That way, I can remember it better.

And I chew on a verse like it's chewing gum...
Chew it until my teeth and jaw muscles ache.
Squeeze as much of the flavor out of thas possible, lol.

So, I looked up these verses in other versions of the bible. Heck Biblegateway.com has a gazillion versions.

Take a look at what I found:

Message Version:

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

CEV

Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.

Darby Translation:

Be careful about 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 every understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts by Christ Jesus.

Worldwide English (New Testament)

Do not worry about anything. Talk to God about everything. Thank him for what you have. Ask him for what you need. Then God will give you peace, a peace which is too wonderful to understand. That peace will keep your hearts and minds safe as you trust in Christ Jesus.

Living translation

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

NIRV

Don't worry about anything. Instead, tell God about everything. Ask and pray. Give thanks to him. Then God's peace will watch over your hearts and your minds because you belong to Christ Jesus. God's peace can never be completely understood.

All of that was very interesting.

It lit this Oldgirl's hair on fire.

And it explained A LOT of what I couldn't explain.

First of all this is a good "what, why, and how" scripture. In other words, it answers a LOT of question.

1. What's wrong? You are worried about some stuff. Something's got you all discombobulated.

2. What do you do about it? You pray about it.

3. How do you pray about it? Take it to God. Tell him what you need

4. What else should you do? Don't forget to give thanks! Give thanks for all that he has seen you through in the past... (We ALL have the long laundry lists of past accomplishments and triumphs and miracles. You know you got some). And give thanks for Him working on this current stuff you praying about.

5. What is the result of this? Peace of mind.

6. What is the reason for all this? For worry to be displaced out of your mind.

Well looking at each translation, I can deduce some very interesting things about this so called "peace".

It is a higher order of peace. It is a peace on some other level, not attainable within one's onself.

A peace that surpasses all understanding.
A peace equal to God's wholeness settling on you.
A peace that no one can completely understand.
A peace which is considered a blessing.
A peace that is too wonderful to understand.

Interesting. Shoot... I can use that type of peace all the time, you hear me?

But the part that really lit my hair on fire is the answering of the following questions.

What is the reason for the peace? What is the purpose of this higher order of "peace"? This God type of "peace".

Displaces worry.
Guards your heart and thoughts.
Keeps your heart and mind safe.
Watches over your heart and mind.
Controls the way you think and feel.

Very interesing... A peace that would control the way I think and feel.

This helps me to understand very critical.

There is always something controlling the way I think and feel. This in turn determines my approach to handling my situations.

We see everyday that people choose the wrong way to handle problems. Cuss folk out. Shooting peeps. Killing folks. Tearing up stuff. All kinds of odd behavior.

Would a peace that controls the way one thinks and feels cause a different behavior?

I submit that it will...

For I don't know about you, but as for me, a lot goes on in my mind before I decide to handle something in a radical way. I have rehearsed it in my head. I have meditated on the thing. Have become more upset by the minute.

I remember all that praying back in January. I remember coming to a point of praying about some of my own personal isshas...

And the peace and calmness that came from that.

I remember thinking... It's like something or someone came along and took a towel and pressed and scraped the untouchable gunk off the walls of my mind, cleaned it up and replaced it with new paint.

That is the best way I can explain it, and that explanation doesn't quite cut it.

It was really disturbing because I didn't know how to explain it. Just was glad for it, you know what I mean?

This thing was peace. A peace that can't be explained or understood.

And it really controlled the way I thought and felt. Really.

A good verse indeed.

One I've written down on a notecard for sure. One that, as you can see, lol, I've really explored.

And I hope it helps you today.

I really do.

This has been Sunday Scripture with your friendly neighborhood Oldgirl LadyLee

Happy Fathers Day to all the Fathers... and to all the Mothers who have had to be both Mother and Father.

And to My Heavenly Father who manufactures the air I breathe.

As always, I leave you with a song... One of my favorites by Canton Jones.

He goes to my church. I sat behind him once... I shook his hand and was cheesing down when he turned around, almost yelling...

"Canton, I really like your CD! I love it!!"

I was cheesing hard like Celie. I could hardly concentrate from the moment I walked in, thinking "Is that Canton Jones sitting in front of me?????"

He said "Thank you, glad you like it."

That first CD of his had to be the best hip hop/R&B soul gospel album I've ever heard.

Here's one I like, and found funny.



Have a great Sunday... on purpose.