We live in a stressful, anxiety-producing world. Between soaring gas prices, supply chain blockages, illegal immigrants flooding our southern border, a pandemic which morphs into variants, infiltration of Critical Race Theory into our schools and universities, sexual identity battles, cancel culture, and a multi-trillion dollar federal budget, it’s enough to keep you awake at night!
So what’s the answer? It isn’t political nor is it economic nor is it religious. Good and noble as those may be, none of them can solve the issue of worry. So who can? God! God alone can solve the insolvable. He can work miracles. He is the God of the supernatural but we have systematically eliminated God from our daily lives. Church attendance, a barometer of the spiritual health of a nation, is way down. People simply are no longer attending church because church and God seem irrelevant to their daily lives. People are trying to live their lives in their own strength and according to their own values, not God’s. If you want to verify that statement, simply check out Sunday mornings at 10:00 a.m. What do you see? The roads are relatively empty with few cars on them. Churches are half empty. Some attend online but in person is the gold standard. Restaurants, however, are full. Most folks sleep in on Sunday. They see it as their day not the Lord’s day. Yes, many would call themselves Christians but the truth is they believe and behave no differently than those who would call themselves agnostics or atheists.
God gives His prescription for worry. It is a prescription which transcends time and culture. It is found in Philippians 4:6, 7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” That’s it! That’s God prescription for His worrying children. Let’s look at His commands and His promises:
- Be anxious for nothing. Anxious literally means, “don’t be divided into parts” (A.T. Robertson). We use the expression, “don’t go to pieces.” The idea is don’t fall apart emotionally. Notice that it’s a command. Stop worrying, in fact, don’t worry at all about anything!
- But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. That’s the answer to worry. Worry about nothing; pray about everything! Pray and tell God your concerns and LEAVE THEM WITH HIM. Don’t pick them back up and begin worrying about them again. Worry characterizes us when we try to solve issues ourselves instead of trusting God with them. For whatever reason we choose to try to figure it out ourselves instead of trusting Him with the solution. The term “supplication” captures the desperation of the prayer. A. T. Robertson says it means, “heartfelt petition, arising out of deep personal need (sense of lack, want).” This is a desperate prayer! In addition, there is an important word inserted in verse 6, “thanksgiving.” Many have wondered why that word is included in the command to pray. I believe it’s because thanksgiving is an act of faith, an act of trust in God. It’s thanking Him IN ADVANCE for what He’s going to do to resolve the issue.
- And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. You’ve prayed with thanksgiving and spoken your requests to God. God honors faith. Faith alone delights God and when He sees His child acting in faith, He blesses him by giving him His peace. His is a supernatural peace which is a fruit of the indwelling Spirit in a believer (Galatians 5:22). His peace does two things: it guards our hearts and it guards our minds in Christ Jesus. The word “guard,” says Robertson, is a military term. Here are his thoughts, “to guard (keep watch) like a military sentinel; (figuratively) to actively display whatever defensive and offensive means are necessary to guard.” When we pray and leave our concerns with God He posts a military sentinel to watch over our hearts and our minds. Our hearts become calm and our blood pressure decreases. Our minds stop whirling and spinning with all the “what ifs.” How? He’s on guard duty! Finally notice where His peace of heart and mind are found, in Christ Jesus. Jesus is our peace. Jesus calms our hearts and minds. Jesus is the answer for worrying saints. He is on guard duty!
God already knows what lies ahead in 2022. Trust Him and pray,
Irv