Anxiety
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
I post a Bible verse or short passage on Facebook every morning. One day I posted the often-quoted short passage above, and I got the following comment from a friend of mine:
“I know people who seemed to have mastered this, and [I’ve] seen how it has made their lives, happier, more joyful, and more generous with their time and concern for helping others.
I envy them, because I still struggle, and always have, with the first necessary step—”Do not be anxious about anything …”
More than the anxiety that troubles me, is the idea that the reason that I can’t forget the anxiety may be because my trust in God is lacking—for which I usually end up apologizing to God.
I still try though. Maybe one day I will succeed.”
I responded as follows: “I know how you feel. And I know I can’t just will my anxiety away. It is real and involuntary.
In addition to the passage above, the apostle Peter writes “Cast all your anxiety on him for he cares for you.” That really helps me, because it reminds me that I don’t need to be able to just “not be anxious” but that battling it is a constant giving over of it to God, knowing that as I do that the one who is in control promises to give me peace even in the turmoil.
The apostle Paul is saying that too in the passage above, noting that the way to overcome anxiety is not by will power, but by continually giving it over to God in prayer, “…but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” It’s a continual affirmation of trust in God to meet us in our need. Keep looking up!”
Are you filled with anxiety? Are you daily giving it over to God in prayer?
Having begun as a guest speaker in 2005, Dan was appointed Interim Pastor in 2008 and has been serving Maple Root Baptist ever since. As a small group leader and Chaplin for the Connecticut Tigers, Dan has a heart for the lost and the God that saves them.