The Bully

Philippians 4:6-7 “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” ~CSB
 
We have all heard those stories about how a little boy is being bullied by another boy, larger and stronger than he is. The little boy warns the bigger child that he has an even bigger brother that will come and protect him from being bullied. When that bigger, stronger brother shows up, all the problems that came with the bully go away.

Now let us imagine that all the worrying we do, comes from the problems of pain, suffering and stress that are brought on by our very own bully, Satan. Look at it, John 10:10 said he comes to steal, kill and destroy. He does not want God’s work in us to succeed. He has no power, but he does have strong influence. He influences our surroundings, our enemies, even our family members through negativity, when we try our best to follow God’s direction. That bullying done by the devil pushes us every day.

But when we read the text above, we see that we must pray in thanksgiving. That young man in the story above asked and petitioned his big brother to come and help him in his situation. He did this in ‘thanksgiving’ because he had faith and trust that his big brother would do what he asked. We also have someone with us who is bigger and stronger than the devil. As Christians we must believe that when we pray in thanksgiving, we are showing God that we have the faith and trust in Him to protect and provide for us as He said he would.

Satan likes to bully us with problems, pain and suffering. But when we put in a request to God and we do it through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, God will show up. He will take care of those things we cannot.

Remember we cannot do two things at once. Worrying and Trust do not go hand in hand. We must let go of the worry in our lives that comes from the bullying of Satan. And embrace the faith, trust and belief in God who loves us and will protect us from everything that is not of Him. When we do that, we will allow His peace to surpass our thoughts, “…and guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

​May God bless and keep you embraced in His love and protection as you journey in Jesus’ name.
 
Amen

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