Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it"); document.writeln("again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not"); document.writeln("be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with"); document.writeln("thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which"); document.writeln("transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ"); document.writeln("Jesus.1
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In"); document.writeln("2013, Disney introduced audiences of all ages to a warm hug-loving snowman"); document.writeln("named Olaf. He enjoyed the beauty of living in the here and now understanding"); document.writeln("that he was loved, and dreamed of experiencing the warm heat of summer. Viewers"); document.writeln("giggled as he sang about being a happy snowman in summer because we knew what"); document.writeln("his reality would be if he ever got his wish! Olaf did not fear for his future"); document.writeln("and even when he faced danger, or literally fell apart, he laughed, and made us"); document.writeln("laugh, through it. Olaf had no anxious thoughts or worries. The simple things"); document.writeln("made sense to him and that was all that mattered.
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In"); document.writeln("Philippians 4, Paul challenges us to live a steady life, to be joyful, gentle,"); document.writeln("and thankful, living without anxiety or worry about anything, basically to live"); document.writeln("like Olaf did! We can have that steadfast, worry-free kind of life by placing"); document.writeln("our trust in the One who holds the future, the One who knows our every step,"); document.writeln("and the One who can guard our hearts and fill us with a peace that goes far"); document.writeln("beyond our understanding... Jesus!
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You"); document.writeln("may be thinking that this kind of living sounds unreasonable\'€¦ fictional even! How can we just go through life without worrying about the future? Even just"); document.writeln("thinking of the immediate future calls for a little anxiety, right? Do I really"); document.writeln("have to be joyful all of the time? Paul says, in those times of stress and"); document.writeln("worry, take it to the Lord in prayer. And he tells us, not once but twice in"); document.writeln("the same sentence, to rejoice! We are not meant to understand all of this"); document.writeln("because the peace that God fills us with when we truly trust in Him transcends"); document.writeln("all understanding and will quite literally blow our mind! We can look to the"); document.writeln("future and sing about it, like snowmen in summer, knowing that God will see us"); document.writeln("through. Others will laugh at our absence of fear of what may come and that is"); document.writeln("okay because the God we serve will not leave you or forsake you (Deut. 31:8).
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Suggested"); document.writeln("prayer: Dear Lord, teach me to live a life free of worry and fear with the"); document.writeln("knowledge that you have my future planned and in the palm of your hand. Help me"); document.writeln("to know your peace. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
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1. Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV).
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Today\'€™s"); document.writeln("Encounter was written by: Veronica B.
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This and other devotionals by Richard (Dick) Innes can be read online.
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