Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
I’ve gotten into the habit of checking the “verse of the day” on a Bible website to see if it has an interesting verse for me to blog about. This was today’s. I’d already had an idea in mind, and it fits perfectly.
In The Practice of the Presence of God, brother Lawrence is quoted as saying, “Lord, I will never be able to do that if You don’t help me,” when he considered doing some good deed. When he sinned, he said, “I can do nothing better without You. Please keep me from falling and correct the mistakes I make.” He was described as not being surprised by his sins. He would say, “That is my nature, the only thing I know how to do.” He would then confess his sin and go on his way.
Part of me screams about this seeming light-heartedness about sin. How could he consider it so insignificant, so inconsequential? The other part of me doubts that he was that lackadaisical. Instead, he seemed to deal honestly with himself and with his sins. If he was too laid back about his sins, I’m probably too hyper about some of my sins, and too self-justifying about others.
The other day on my walk, I found myself getting anxious about the tasks of the day. They were all at home, waiting for me to get back to them, screaming for my attention form half a mile away. One of the anxiety triggers I deal with is having things to do about which I can do nothing at the time. I can’t cook or clean while I’m on my walk, and my walk is good for my body and my soul. I struggled with just enjoying the walk. It didn’t help that my walk was in an urban setting, but my trip to Presque Isle a week ago had the same, “must keep moving” and “when you get home…” feelings as the walk.
I think that to obey today’s commandment, I need to move a little in brother Lawrence’s direction.
In The Practice of the Presence of God, brother Lawrence is quoted as saying, “Lord, I will never be able to do that if You don’t help me,” when he considered doing some good deed. When he sinned, he said, “I can do nothing better without You. Please keep me from falling and correct the mistakes I make.” He was described as not being surprised by his sins. He would say, “That is my nature, the only thing I know how to do.” He would then confess his sin and go on his way.
Part of me screams about this seeming light-heartedness about sin. How could he consider it so insignificant, so inconsequential? The other part of me doubts that he was that lackadaisical. Instead, he seemed to deal honestly with himself and with his sins. If he was too laid back about his sins, I’m probably too hyper about some of my sins, and too self-justifying about others.
The other day on my walk, I found myself getting anxious about the tasks of the day. They were all at home, waiting for me to get back to them, screaming for my attention form half a mile away. One of the anxiety triggers I deal with is having things to do about which I can do nothing at the time. I can’t cook or clean while I’m on my walk, and my walk is good for my body and my soul. I struggled with just enjoying the walk. It didn’t help that my walk was in an urban setting, but my trip to Presque Isle a week ago had the same, “must keep moving” and “when you get home…” feelings as the walk.
I think that to obey today’s commandment, I need to move a little in brother Lawrence’s direction.
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