May 14, 2026

Hey guys, 

This week’s Thought comes from Philippians 4:6-7. Paul tells the church in Philippi,  “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.” 

Looking at this passage in my Bible, more than a third of the two pages were highlighted. Other passages were underlined. Some of them were highlighted and underlined! I even had notes scribbled out in the margin. I’m not trying to say that I'm a super biblical scholar. In fact, I don’t use some hyper-theological method to study Scripture. I simply sit down to read a passage, and before I read it, I pray, “God show me something new today.” That simple, and He usually does.

I have read through the book of Philippians dozens of times and have even taught from it numerous time over the last 30-35 years. However, it was not until this most recent time reading that I realized I had missed a key component of what Paul was trying to teach us in verses six and seven.

Paul says, “Don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything.” Maybe that's where you need to focus today. Instead of worrying about everything, pray about it. Bring it to Him. Then Paul goes on, “Tell God what you need, and thank him for what He's done." THEN you will have the peace that we can't explain! You can have the peace that exceeds our understanding, but you must pray first. 

My wife and I have experienced that unexplainable peace in our lives as we've walked through trial and difficulty. We've had people watching us say, “How are you making it through this? Most of the time, my answer was, “I don't know!” However, as I thought more deeply about the question, it was then that I realized it wasn’t us, it was God’s peace that we can't explain. 

Regretfully, I’ve never really noticed the order. Don't worry about anything. Pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for it. THEN….

If you're walking through a trial, difficulty, struggle right now, or maybe you're dealing with something you're not sure you can get through, follow this very simple formula that Paul lays out here. Don't worry about anything. Pray for everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for it…then you will have unexplainable peace.

Love you guys,

John