"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 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." Philippians 4:6-7 NLT

God's been working overtime in my life the last few years, and it dawned on me that the three key principles he's trying to drill in to my head are: be obedient, be patient, and just trust him with everything! Wow! Imagine the peace that would follow if I could live this way daily!

And if it wasn't for the many situations that have been beyond my control and left me at God's mercy, I wouldn't have learned to reply on him and anticipate his work in my life. It took me an embarrassingly long time to stop reacting to crises by panicking and to instead approach them as "opportunities to trust God." Once I began to view uncertainty, conflict, and stress in this light, I began to experience the peace that this verse promises.

"Practice makes perfect," so God knew that it would take me many lessons to reduce my panic-time to zero and go straight to trust. I haven't fully achieved this goal, but I can say that my panic-time has been drastically reduced and I find myself anticipating God's provision or revelation, depending on the situation.

He doesn't always come through the way we think he should. Sometimes he leaves us in the mess for a while because he wants us to understand his nature or our own issues better. But whatever the circumstance, God is in it with us, working for our good. Let's claim this verse and experience a mind-blowing peace!