Giving God Some Space

In Philippians 4:6, we read the direction Paul gives this church regarding life and their use of prayer:

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

In this verse, Paul is echoing the words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:25-34) where Jesus ends by saying

Matthew 6:31-34

31 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’  32 “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

How much energy do you spend every day worrying about things?  Jesus and Paul are pretty clear that if you give those things to God, He will take care of them.  Notice the word Jesus uses in vss 33 and 34 is “will”, not “might”.  All these things WILL be added to you.  Tomorrow WILL take care for itself.

Of course, there’s a condition to that guarantee – Jesus says in vs 33 that we must first seek His kingdom and righteousness.  Paul writes that we must take our prayers and supplications to God.  Those worries aren’t just automatically taken care of.  We have to place them before God, and then seek His kingdom.

If you’re holding on to those worries instead of handing them over, then you can’t expect Him to take care of them.  He’s going to step out of the way and let you deal with it because you’re not letting it go.  The trick is to give God the space to work on you worry.

God will fill up whatever space you give Him in your life.  If it’s a corner cubby, then that’s the only thing that God will take.  If it’s the living room, then He’ll fill that instead.  So look at your own life, and identify the trouble areas.  What are you having problems with?  When you find them, lay them at God’s feet, and know that He WILL take care of them, as long as you don’t take them back.

Right after Paul tells the Philippians to be anxious for nothing, but to give their troubles to God, we read one of the most wonderful promises the Bible makes (after forgiveness of sins, of course):

Philippians 4:7

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Give God the space to work in your life, and accept His peace in return.