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).
There are two things that bother most of us terribly, having to wait and having to ask for help.
If we analyze our behaviors we will realize that we have less and less patience.
Nothing makes us angrier than arriving at the doctor’s office or a restaurant and having to wait. And even more so if you have booked an appointment.
Books have fewer and fewer pages and the most watched videos on social networks are less than three minutes long. Even Aliexpress is working to deliver orders, to anywhere in the world, in less than three days, because, otherwise, sales slow down.
And if we go to surf the Internet then the issue is already incredible. To give an example, if a page takes more than 10 or 12 seconds to load, the vast majority of people abandon the site.
And even if the paragraphs are very long, people skip over them.
And as for asking for help… we’re not doing much better either.
We always like to look our best and give the impression that we are winners, because being a loser is frowned upon. And because admitting our need for help implies recognizing that we are not so much masters of our lives.
I recently switched phone companies and had to go to a store to return the router; and in the time I spent in that store I saw something very interesting. Every customer in front of them always asked for the highest-end smartphone they were offered.
They may not have a place to drop dead, but if they do, they will do so with a state-of-the-art cell phone.
And if we add the problems caused by Covid-19 to this tension to make us look like winners, we get a devastating cocktail.
Spain is among the countries with the highest growth in cases of depression in Europe. And it has the highest per capita consumption of antidepressants.
Terrifying.
But God has the answer to this situation.
An answer that fills us with hope and that we find in the epistle to the Philippians, chapter 4 and verses 6 and 7:
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.
The apostle Paul teaches us that there is only one way to keep anxiety and worry away from us, and that is to present our needs before God and thank Him for His decision and provision, whatever it may be. For only in this way can we find his peace.
Because God wants us to learn to rest in Him. And not because he wants us to become indolent beings, but because it is only when our hearts and thoughts remain centered on Christ that we will be able to defeat adversity.
But this will only happen when we accept that God has His perfect time to show us His answer and has a perfect plan for our lives. Although at first we may not understand it.
So, if you are struggling to achieve your dreams soon, and to do it by your own means, and if you are seeing how anxiety or depression is taking over your thoughts, stop and turn to God, and decide to trust him.
Because only when you strip yourself of your pride and arrogance, and decide to ask for and accept his help, you will feel how your life is filled with his peace, you will discover his plan for you and you will see the power of God working in your life.
God bless you.
Cover image by Luis Villasmil on Unsplash
