Philippians 4:5-7 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
“Don’t be anxious”…even though it's a perfectly natural response to mounting threats; sickness, finances, employment, uncertainty, emotional stress, family crises...Nevertheless, it says, "Don't be anxious about anything". Instead, pray!
But does that really work? How many can affirm, even testify, that praying relieves anxiety about real and present threats and dangers? Anxiety is a powerful emotional condition, even expressing in physical symptoms; stomach upsets, cramps, heart palpitations, headaches, ruminations, muscle contractions, indigestion, cold extremities, dilated pupils, numbness, emotional outbursts, fits of anger, etc. etc. And there are all kinds of prescribed and/or self medications, including everything from beer to valium, or simply the internet...
But is prayer really and truly an effective solution for anxiety? If you can honestly answer "Yes", you are not a novice at praying.
Psalm 62:8 ... "Trust in Him at all times, people, pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah (which kind of means 'pause for an easy breath')." When you pour out your heart to someone, is time a factor? When you know she's really listening and caring about your situation, and has something to offer, do you expect to feel better after you have emptied your soul? It sounds simple, even perfunctory, but praying out your anxiety implies really trusting the Person you're talking to, and taking the time to empty your heart and soul before Him. That's what God wants you to do.
If and when you do that, and thoroughly, you may find yourself in a peace (a "shalom") which passes comprehension, because you hardly expected it when you started out. What’s amazing about this passage is the hidden mystery of that Shalom, a Hebrew word with such wonderful compound meaning it requires a basketful of English words to be inadequately translated: peace, completeness, prosperity, safety, contentment, health, blessing, and rest, among others.
See if you can manage to experience this when anxiety strikes. Test it and see for yourself if praying can really alleviate your fears. God’s peace is there for you and it will pass all understanding; and most especially in these times … wouldn’t it be great to constantly walk in that shalom, His shalom?
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Another aspect of Mashiach ben Yosef, is that the world would resist his authority.
When Joseph told his family of his dreams, they were outraged at the suggestion that their younger brother would reign over them. They simply had no idea that God would make Joseph exactly the kind of ruler they needed.
When Joseph became ruler over Egypt, his name was changed, and his identity was altered so that he no longer appeared or lived as a shepherd son of Israel from the land of Canaan, but as an Egyptian Prime Minister. The transformation was so thorough that when his ten brothers arrived in Egypt he was totally unrecognizable to them. This true story beautifully illustrates Mashiach ben Yosef (Yeshua/Jesus at His first coming), and contains a prophetic picture pointing to Yeshua and His Jewish people living today as we approach the Second Coming.
Joseph, the son of Jacob grew up caring for flocks, a shepherd boy,(Genesis 37:2). While we might have a romantic view of an easy pastoral life among sheep and goats, the main responsibility of a shepherd was to protect the flock against hungry predators (wolves, lions, etc.) looking for an easy meal, actually quite a dangerous job. The shepherd loved his sheep; and Joseph was a good shepherd.
The creation of the world was completed by God in 6 days. He rested on the 7th day and sanctified it, the Sabbath, Shabbat. When Yeshua died for the sins of the world, his followers hurried to take Him down from the cross so they would not violate the commanded time to rest. [Luke 23:54-56] So the Messiah completed His work of redemption just before entering into Shabbat. As He died, He said, “It is finished!” [John 19:30] Finishing His work and entering the grave opened the way for humanity to enter His rest, the rest He entered after creating the world.
Does it ever happen to you – that something terribly simplistic just suddenly becomes clear? I realized something about us the other day. We, humans, are such addictive creatures.
This verse in Nehemiah connects the observance of a Holy day with the joy of the Lord. Our identity as “saints” (literally, “holy ones”), called to be holy, means we are and ought to be set apart from the world. But does that mean a solemn and joyless life of boredom as some have been led to believe? I have heard statements like, “I’m miserable, but at least I’m holy!” No, to be simultaneously holy and miserable is “oxymoronic” (if I may coin an adjective). It contradicts the very Spirit of God!
In 70 AD Jerusalem finally fell to the mighty Roman army led by Titus after a long siege. To commemorate the Roman victory over the Jewish rebellion, an arch was erected in Rome known to this day as the Arch of Titus. This famous arch depicts the fall of the Temple and its artifacts paraded in a processional described by the historian Josephus’ in his account, “The Jewish War.”