Bible Reading Plan | Devotion for the week of May 9, 2021

Many people struggle with anxiety and stress. You might be one of those people. I know I am. And when I find myself amid a bunch of anxious thoughts, I’d love nothing more than to pull a Bob Newhart in that MadTV psychologist sketch and just tell myself to “Stop it… S-T-O-P, new word, I-T!” But that’s not how it works. When I try to tell myself to stop feeling anxious, I just become anxious about my anxiety. It’s a real mess. But I’ll let you know what does work: reminding myself of Paul’s advice to the Philippians:

“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. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:6-9, NIV)

And after I think about those verses, I try to listen to Paul’s advice. I pray and then remind myself what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. Do you know what fits all those categories and more? God. And there are two ways that I can remind (sometimes convince) myself of the truth about God: the Bible and my past.

Let me explain. We can use our past to remind ourselves of the truth about God by looking back on our lives and recalling all the times that God was at work, guiding and comforting us. God is always at work in and around us. We just have to open our eyes to look for God’s presence. The longer we’ve known the Lord, the longer that list of the ways He’s been at work will be.

The other way we can shift our thinking is by reminding ourselves what we’ve learned about God from the Bible. The more we read God’s Word, the more we get to know God’s character. As we read, we see over and over again the ways that God works in the lives of the people of the Bible. We also read promises of God working in our lives as well. God doesn’t change. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So when we get to know God in scripture, we can trust that that same God is at work in our lives today as well.

Psalm 16 is a great example of scripture that helps us remember God’s character. The verses that stick out to me are: “Every good thing I have comes from you… Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing… I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me… You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” (Psalm 16:2b, 5a, 8, 11, NLT)

In verse 8, David says that he knows that the Lord is always with him. “I know” is a really strong statement. David doesn’t say “I hope” or “I wish” or “if only.” No. David knows that God is always with him. But how? How did David know that? Those two things again: God’s Word and his past. Those are the two ways to consistently remind ourselves that God is always with us – guiding, directing, comforting, supporting, and encouraging us. This truth about God’s character is found beyond Psalm 16. We see it throughout scripture, from the stories of Genesis to the Psalms to the Gospels to the letters of Paul. And we can see it in our past as well. We just have to look for it. – Sarah Neel

• Do you struggle with anxiety? How can you use God’s Word and your past to help change your thinking and shift your focus away from anxious thoughts onto the truth about God?

• Consider making a list of God’s qualities that comfort and encourage you that you can look at when you need help with your anxiety. You can include qualities from scripture as well as examples of God’s faithfulness in your own life.

• An interesting resource you can check out as we slowly work through the Psalms is the work of the band Sons of Korah. According to their website, “Sons of Korah is an Australian based band devoted to giving a fresh voice to the biblical psalms… They endeavor to lead their listeners into an impacting encounter with this book that is often described as the ‘heart’ of the Bible. From lamentation to songs of jubilant praise, from battle cry to benediction, from exclamation of awe and wonder to reflections of tranquility and perfect wisdom, Sons of Korah provide a compelling portrait of the world and experience of the psalms.” They’ve recorded a version of Psalm 16 that you can check out on YouTube & Spotify.