“Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
(This is a devotion I wrote while awaiting the birth of our eleventh grandchild.)
Well, here it is 5:30 in the morning and I am sitting in solitude of McDonalds once again. Elaine and I are waiting for an eleventh grandchild to make her way into the world and she is stubbornly remaining in safety of the womb until arrival is absolutely necessary. I can’t say that I blame her! The deadline day was this morning and the doctors said that Laura (mom) could absolutely not go beyond this morning even if inducement was necessary. Then last night a nurse called and said, “Oops, due to staffing issues we need to delay you one day. See you on Thursday.”
Wow, have you ever been on a road trip and you are desperate for a rest stop and you notice there is one in two miles and you give your body that message and then you see the sign that says, “rest area closed.” No matter how gently you try to tell your 
body there is no restroom in sight, your body does not take the news well. Well, Laura is experiencing this feeling in triplicate. Her body is rebelling against the sign that said, “Hospital closed for one day. Check in then. Have a nice day. “
As we look at today’s verse we see that God has given us a remedy for delays and disappointments. He doesn’t just say stop worrying like the mean PE teacher who tells his class to stop sweating after a two-mile run. God gives us the means and the power by which we can stop worrying.
First of all, He tells us to be square with Him. We are certainly disappointed that the little bundle of sunshine is behind the clouds for an extra day, especially when we have spent the last few days with Laura walking in town, out of town, up trails, down trails, on beach, in the water, and 
every where you can imagine in an attempt to speed this little bundle into the world. Baby has held on tenaciously to the walls of the womb and refused to make an appearance (probably has been hearing all the news in the world today), and the only thing that has happened is Elaine and I gave birth to a whole bunch of sore muscles. I got in 19,000 steps just yesterday and I imagine Elaine got in more because her legs are shorter than mine.
But regardless of all we did, God had His own timetable and He instructs to not worry. In fact, He tells us to be thankful for it. Through the Apostle Paul He says that peace comes from sharing our desires with Him and thanking Him for answering before we even know the answer. Amy Carmichael, missionary to India wrote, “Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace…If you refuse to be hurried and pressed, if you stay your soul on God, nothing can keep you from that clearness of spirit which is life and peace. In that stillness you know what His will is.” God’s will is that we trust Him and believe that he sees not only our own situation, but how this 
situation will affect hundreds of others. We trust that God’s timetable is timely.
I don’t know why the hospital delayed the delivery by a day; they had their reasons, but so did God. Who knows, maybe the doctor Laura would have gotten worked his way through medical school with crib sheets and the ability to see other’s test papers at long distance. But I trust God and I trust that someday I might even know why we might be spending another day hiking into waterfalls on steep (beautiful but steep) trails.
Robert Louis Stevenson tells of a storm that caught a vessel off a rocky coast and threatened to drive it and its passengers to destruction. In the midst of the terror, one daring man, contrary to orders, went to the deck, made a dangerous passage to the pilot house and saw the steerman, lashed fast at his post of holding the wheel unwaveringly, and inch by inch, turning the ship out, once more, to sea. The pilot saw the watcher and smiled.
Then, the daring passenger went below and gave out a note of cheer: 
“I have seen the face of the pilot, and he smiled. All is well.”
Philippians tells us that the one who guards our hearts and minds is smiling. We can be assured that “all is well.”