Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6
“Freedom from anxiety is characterized by three inner attitudes. If what we have we receive as a gift, and if what we have is to be cared for by God, and if what we have is available to others, then we will possess freedom from anxiety. This is the inward reality of simplicity. However, if what we have we believe we have gotten, and if what we have we believe we must hold onto, and if what we have is not available to others, then we will live in anxiety. Such persons will never know simplicity regardless of the outward contortions they may put themselves through in order to live ‘the simple life.'”
Richard Foster in Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (New York: HarperCollins, 1998) 88.
I attended an Online Journey of Generosity with Generous Giving yesterday and loved it. In the activity I read an excerpt from Celebration of Discipline which is the source of this quote. Over the next three days I will share more about these three inner attitudes. It’s too much to swallow for one day.
Let’s take a few days to explore this idea because we live in a world filled with anxiety, and we are God’s ambassadors to point others to the way of freedom. But we have to find it first.
God designed everyone to experience freedom from anxiety. In that place He is the faithful Provider. That’s His role. Alternatively, we make His blessings available to others. That’s our job. Finding ‘the simple life’ is a state of being rooted in trust in a faithful God and reflected in open-handed generosity.
It requires us to grasp these three inner attitudes. They will follow over the next three days. For now, let’s soak in this Scripture. We have no need to be anxious about anything. Let us instead, by prayer and petition lift up our every need to God and rest in His peace and provision.