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The Lord is near. \xa0Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. \xa0And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:5b-7)

A strange thing can happen when we know we should talk to someone, but don\u2019t. \xa0Maybe we need to talk to them because we see or know that they\u2019re struggling. \xa0Maybe there\u2019s a tension or disagreement unresolved between us. \xa0Maybe we owe them something. \xa0Maybe it\u2019s simply the fact that it\u2019s an important relationship that we want to keep up with.

Whatever the case, the longer we go without talking to that person, the harder it becomes to reach out and do it. \xa0I\u2019m not exactly sure why. \xa0Maybe we get used to telling ourselves that we\u2019ll do it later. \xa0Maybe the conversation feels too big or too important to try to squeeze into any of the moments we have and so we wait for an opportune moment that just never seems to come. \xa0Or, maybe we build up a story in our head that they\u2019re frustrated or angry with us for not talking to them, and that makes it all the harder to reach out.

I think I\u2019ve been guilty of all of these at some point. \xa0And, most of the time when I do finally talk to that person I\u2019ve been avoiding, it brings relief. \xa0We take steps to resolve our issues, we\u2019re encouraged by each other, I discover that they weren\u2019t nearly as upset at me as I had imagined. \xa0Sometimes I find that they didn\u2019t realize anything was wrong, making clear in an instant that I\u2019d been agonizing over nothing. \xa0Sometimes there\u2019s nothing to it, but to do it: to just reach out and talk. \xa0Sometimes that\u2019s the quickest way to peace.

I think that same dynamic plays itself out in our relationship with God, too. \xa0We know we should talk to him. \xa0It\u2019s an important relationship. \xa0We owe him our thanks. \xa0Perhaps we feel a tension between us of some guilt or sin that needs confessing on our side, or something we\u2019re frustrated at God about that he seemingly hasn\u2019t held up on his. \xa0

The longer we go without talking, the harder it is. \xa0And yet, when we do, more often than not what we walk away with after is his peace that transcends all understanding. \xa0

So Paul reminds us, the Lord has already drawn near to us. \xa0He has already redeemed us and adopted us as his very own in Christ Jesus, making all the peace there ever needs to be between he and us already. \xa0So, no need to be anxious about coming to God in prayer. \xa0He\u2019s already taken the first step. \xa0He\u2019s already confirmed his love and forgiveness to us in Christ. \xa0So, come to him. \xa0Talk to him. \xa0Today. \xa0And let his peace in Jesus that transcends understanding meet you and guard your hearts and minds as you journey on.

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