INSTEAD

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November marks the 1st anniversary of Just One Word: 90 Devotions to Invite Jesus In! To celebrate, I will be sharing some of my favorite ONE WORD devotions from the book this month. Thanks for being such faithful readers!

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INSTEAD

adv:  as an alternative or substitute for; in place of, rather 

 “…Instead of worrying, pray. Let your petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down…” Philippians 4:6-7

Decisions are hard for most people. I learned this working in an ice cream shop for several summers during high school and college. Baskin and Robbins, also known as 31 Flavors, was a popular place. Those of us who worked there knew that there were actually more than 31 flavors most of the time. The ice cream cases held 48 different tubs at a time, and back in the freezer there were even more.

And it was difficult for people to choose. We tried to be patient as they took forever to order and often changed their minds. Go with the favorite or try the new flavor-of-the-month? In a chocolate mood or does a fruit flavor sound better today? And for the little ones it was really a struggle. Bubble gum or rainbow sherbet? Or maybe just plain vanilla instead…

Instead. Eventually a choice was made, one over the other. One flavor won out, and they went happily on their way.  

The word instead usually implies a choice, a decision. So, when Paul tells us, “instead of worrying, pray,” the next step is up to us. To pray instead of worrying is a choice. It is a discipline that doesn’t come easily.

This verse was my mom’s favorite. She lived like this. She chose to pray when it was tempting to worry. She stayed calm when things seemed overwhelming. She was the most peaceful person I have ever known because she completely trusted Jesus. She listened to his voice. And she prayed about everything.

She prayed as an alternative to worrying.

She substituted prayer for worry.

Rather than worrying, she prayed.

We try to do this, but we usually end up doing a little of both. We pray, and we worry. But that doesn’t bring the peace, the sense of wholeness that Jesus wants to give us. He wants us to trust him completely. To make the decision to pray in place of worrying. To thank him and praise him even before we see his answers.

He waits for us to just order the ice cream already. He wants us to decide to believe that he can handle it. And that he really is working all things together for good.

“The root choice is to trust at all times that God will give you what you most need…God says to you, ‘I love you, I am with you…’ This is the voice to listen to. And that listening requires a real choice.”  Henri Nouwen, The Inner Voice of Love

Let’s invite Him in: Try it. Ask him to help you to choose to pray instead of worrying about something today. He will help you to put your requests, your needs in his hands and leave them there. Let him assure you that everything is coming together for good.  Then, take a deep breath of peace as his wholeness envelops you and settles you down. You can trust him completely.