"The First Choice"

Dear Friends in Christ,         

                This is the first time in over 20 years that I was not enrolled in a school when the school year started.  Even though a couple years ago I was a vicar and didn’t have to go to school but I was still enrolled at Concordia Seminary.  I have to admit it felt good this fall to not be enrolled in school.  As I think about the first days of classes at college and seminary, I noticed a common theme.  That common theme was anxiety and stress over the classes I was taking.  Normally you would think first day of classes are the easiest days, teachers and professors normally just hand out the syllabus.  You would be correct, but the problem for me was that they handed out the syllabus.

            Why was such a simple thing like a syllabus a thing that caused anxiety and stress?  The answer is pretty simple, it told me all that was required of me for that class.  As the teacher or professor would discuss all of the assignments I would start to wonder how I would be able to get all of the work done.  I will have no free time, all I will have time to do is my homework.  I never looked forward to those moments.  It was in moments like that, that I needed to remember the words that Paul wrote to the Philippians in today’s Epistle Reading.  In verse 6, Paul said, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”  With that verse Paul was encouraging me to bring my anxieties and stresses about school and anything else to God in prayer.

            Paul was not only encouraging me with this text, but he is encouraging all people.  Prayer is a direct way in which, we can speak to God about anything.  This is a great gift that God has given to us.  He wants us to come to Him in prayer.  The question is, is prayer always our first choice when anxieties and stress come up in our lives.

            We have a lot of things in our lives that can cause us anxiety and stress.  This  happen when the natural flow is disrupted.  One of the most common aspects of our lives that cause us anxiety and stress are illnesses.  When you or a loved one have a serious illness it causes a lot of anxiety and stress.  Hearing the words “It’s cancer,” “It’s terminal”, “You only have a few months to live,” are not words we ever want to hear.  When we hear those words so many thoughts go through our minds.  Sadly there are times when we hear those words and prayer is not our first choice.

            Earlier I mentioned anxieties and stress that I had while I was in school.  School is another aspect of our lives that can cause great anxiety and stress.  As a student I never liked tests, I wasn’t always the best test taker.  To me tests just added a lot of anxiety, stress, and headaches.  I hated when I took a big test right before Christmas break, because that meant I had at least two weeks to find out how I did on the test.  Any of the students out there can relate to those stresses.  Is prayer always our first choice in those times?

I recently found out anxiety and stress does not go away after you graduate.  You still have anxiety and stress in the work place.  They are pretty common around the job.  That big report is due, a presentation is needed, possibility of down-sizing, and so much more.  These things can add up and add a lot of anxiety and stress in our lives.  I have to admit this past week, was a week that was causing me a lot of anxiety and stress.  This past week was Pastor Meyer’s vacation.  I think he knew this was going to be an extremely busy week and that is why he planned it.  The first full week of the month is a busy one around Salem, with service at the Manor, Labors of Love, Men’s Bible Breakfast, and a few other items.  This week caused me some anxiety and stress, as I was thinking how will I be able to get everything done.

            What happens when we feel overwhelmed by all of these things in our life?  Sometimes when we look at our schedules and we start looking where we can gain some extra time to get things done.  We look at the list of things to do and start seeing what things don’t necessarily need to be done.  What’s our first choice of things that we can skip?  One of the things that tend to be seen not as important in today’s society is prayer, daily devotions, and going to church.  We think to ourselves, “I can skip my prayers and devotions for today, and I will just pick right back up tomorrow.”  Have you ever thought that before?

            What happens when we start getting into that type of mindset?  Skipping saying prayers and doing devotions one time, leads to another time, and then another, and so on.  And only the devil rejoices when this happens.  What does this say about our priorities?  It says that God is not important to us and that prayer is not our first choice.

            Instead of thinking, “I can skip my devotion today, and I will just pick right back up tomorrow.”  We need to look at Paul’s words to the Philippians.  He tells them, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”  Paul is inviting us to make prayer our first choice.  Along with prayer we should turn to our daily devotions when things seem to get too hectic. 

            As I was looking at the texts for this week, I realized God has a sense of humor.  I was feeling a little anxious and stressed about this week, since it was my first week alone as a pastor here at Salem.  Then in the middle of those anxious and stressed out feelings I read the Epistle Reading for today, and felt like God was reminding me, that prayer needs to be my first choice, and to stay in God’s Word.  After reading this I text I made sure that I prayed and let God know what was on my mind and how I was feeling.  Prayer and God’s Word provide the greatest support and comfort when we get anxious and stressed out.  I have heard many times people who have experienced that exact thing.  People have said how they were feeling anxious and stressed, so they prayed to God, and dived into His Word, and God guided them to the right Bible passage for that exact moment.  It is amazing to see how God works in those awesome ways.

            What else are you anxious about?  Are you anxious about all of the sins that you committed?  Are you worried that those sins will affect your salvation?  Our sins can really take a toll on us.  There are times when we think to ourselves “How could God forgive me, I sin so much.”  It is not uncommon for people to beat themselves up because of the sins they commit.  When that happens, we begin to doubt our salvation.  We wonder why would, God ever let us ever be able to walk through the pearly white gates and dwell in the room that He has prepared for us.  Where do we turn?

            We turn to God.  We make prayer our first choice.  In our prayers we are able to talk to God, and let Him know that we are sorry for our sins, and that we want to turn away from our sinful nature.  God listens to our prayers, and He gives to us comfort when we pray to Him about our sins.  He reminds us of the promise of the cross.  The promise of the cross is beautifully seen during the crucifixion account in the Gospel of Luke with the exchange between Jesus and one of the criminals on the cross.  The one criminal on the cross talked with Jesus, and if you ask me it was a prayer, when He said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  Jesus responded to him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”  This criminal deserved to be crucified on the cross for the crimes and sins that he committed in his life.  As he was facing his death and an eternity in hell, he realized his mistakes.  So his first choice in that moment was to talk to Jesus and seek His forgiveness.  Jesus assures him, just as He assures you and me, that one day we will be in paradise with Him.

            What is your first choice when you are anxious and stressed out?  Sadly as much as we would like to say prayer is always our first choice, it isn’t always the first choice.  Anxiety and stress can lead us away from prayer or God’s Word, and those are the times when prayer and God’s Word are most important.  When we make prayer our first choice it takes away our anxiety and stress, because of the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, and will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.  Our anxiety and stress is taken away by comforting words found in  God’s Word or in a devotion.  God loves to speak to us when we dive into His Word.  God hears our prayers when we feel anxiety over our salvation.  He sent His Son to die on the cross, so that we never have to worry or wonder where we stand with God in regards to our salvation.  We will be in paradise one day because of Jesus’ death and resurrection on the cross.  My prayer is that, you hear the words of encouragement from Paul, and “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

Amen.